Ramanathan and Raja win Pune Challenger doubles title

Ramkumar Ramanathan and Purav Raja defeated fellow countrymen Arjun Kadhe and Saketh Myneni to win the men’s doubles title in the final of the KPIT MSLTA Challenger event.

It was a memorable victory for India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan and Purav Raja as they got their hands on their second straight doubles title after seeing off compatriots Arjun Kadhe and Saketh Myneni on Sunday.

In the all-Indian final, Ramanathan and Raja came out on top after producing an excellent display to win an ATP Challenger title for the second straight week.

It could be recalled that Ramkumar had previously won the doubles title in 2018 at the event with N Vijay Sundar Prashanth as his partner.

Ramkumar holds the record for being the first Indian player to reach an ATP world tour singles final since Somdev Devvarman achieved that feat. He has won 3 titles in his doubles and finished as runner-up three times.

Purav Raja, on the other hand, specializes in doubles and mainly participates in the ATP World Tour.

Both Ramkumar and Raja have formed a lethal partnership over the months. This second consecutive ATP Challenger title is a testament to that.

Raja and Ramanathan won Arjun Kadhe and Saketh Myneni 7-6(3), 6-3 to claim the cash prize of $3100 USD and 80 ATP points. Arjun and Saketh, who were runners-up, will walk away with a cash prize of $1800 USD and 48 ATP points.

While in the men’s singles of the KPIT MSLTA Challenger event, Australia’s James Duckworth emerged as the winner. Duckworth wins his fourth Challenger title of 2019 after he got Jay Clarke of Britain in a three-setter in the final.

Duckworth, who was second-seeded won 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 over his fifth-seeded rival in a very close match that lasted a duration of 2 hours and 18 minutes.

The Australian tennis star will also get to go home with a cash prize of 7200 USD and 80 ATP points.

Written by: Collins Nwokolo