So I think I raised my game up and with all the crowd...yeah, it helped my game," Ramanathan said after the match. Ramanathan won the first set easily with Ismailov trying to find his feet in alien conditions with the sweltering afternoon heat taking a toll on the 22-year-old. But at 4-3 in the second set, the Uzbek made a comeback stretching Ramanathan all the way to finally draw level at 1-1. After taking a 2-1 lead, Ismailov was pushed to the corner as Ramanathan looked to seal the tie in the fourth set. But in the end, the Chennai-based player held fort with a serve and volley winner to put India in the driver's seat.

Source: India Today April 07, 2017 14:52 UTC