Ramkumar Ramanathan returns to career-best ATP rank after 'great week' in Newport

Ramkumar Ramanathan has jumped 46 spots on ATP men's singles charts to reach his career-best rank of 115, according to the latest list released on Monday, July 23.

The notable progress comes after Ramkumar at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport on Sunday. The 23-year-old Indian finished second best in his first ATP tour final as he was outplayed in three sets 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 by Steve Johnson of the USA.

Ramkumar took home 150 points and $52,340 for the best result of his career. The Chennai-lad is now on course to becoming the second Indian after Yuki Bhambri to be placed inside the top 100 of ATP charts.

Bhambri has slipped a spot to 86 in the latest rankings but the 25-year-old has been quite impressive in the recent past and has reached the main draw of all three Grand Slam tournaments in the ongoing season.

Gave my best all throughout the week: Ramkumar

Ramkumar had entered the tournament on the back of some ordinary performances at the Challenger circuit. Nonetheless, the youngster looked at ease on the grass courts of Newport.

He avenged his Australian Open final qualifying round defeat to higher-ranked Vasek Pospisil in the quarter-final and eased past Tim Smyczek in the semi-final to become the first tour-level finalist since Somdev Devvarman in 2011.

Ramkumar was bidding to become the first Indian ATP World Tour titleist since 1998 but third seed Johnson fended off a strong threat from the Indian to deny him a piece of history.

Ramkumar had served well throughout the tournament, hitting 41 aces and continued to test Johnson with his serves in the final. However, he conceded a couple of easy break points to the third seed, who was too good to miss out on such opportunities.

"It was a great week for me. I think I gave my best all throughout the week. Steve was hitting some good forehands today. I think he played a good third set and got the better of me," Ramanathan said.

Meanwhile, Indian Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali was elated with Ramkumar's performance in Newport and insisted that having two "high-ranked" players will come as a big boost to India's chances in the team tournament.

Ramkumar is expected to only get better and climb up the ATP ladder in the upcoming hard-court swing of the season. The confidence-boosting run in Newport should help the 23-year-old, who has so far struggled to make it count at the highest level despite being a bundle of talent.

"To have two high-ranked players is psychologically a huge advantage going into future ties. You always need two strong singles players to keep you in a tie, to put pressure on the opponents. Now we will have that. Indian tennis is certainly in a good place right now," Ali told The Indian Express.