Australian Open 2018: Yuki Bhambri qualifies for main draw; Ramkumar Ramanathan falls at final hurdle

Melbourne: Continuing his good form from the last season, Yuki Bhambri on Sunday qualified for the Australian Open with a comeback win but Ramkumar Ramanathan missed out on his maiden Grand Slam appearance. The 25-year-old Bhambri overcame a first set lapse to tame Canadian Peter Polansky 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the third and final qualifying round in one hour and 55 minutes. [caption id=“attachment_4302059” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of India’s Yuki Bhambri. Image courtesy: Twitter [/caption] It will be third Australian Open men’s singles main draw for Bhambri who had lost in the first round in 2015 and 2016 to Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych respectively. Meanwhile, Ramkumar had a break chance in the fifth game of the decider but could not convert and eventually lost his third round match 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 to Canadian Vasek Pospisil. At Grand Slams, it is Ramkumar’s best show, reaching the final qualifying round. Bhambri, who was junior world number one, had won Australian Open boys singles tile here in 2009 and has played only at this Grand Slam in the main draw since turning pro. Asked what makes him perform at Melbourne Park, Bhambri told PTI," I don’t know what makes me play better here. Maybe the conditions suit me or I am just familiar with it because I have played here before." In his first two attempts, Bhambri could not make much of the chance as he drew very strong opponents for his opening matches. “I am hoping for a better draw of course. I am hoping that I can win a few rounds in the main draw,” said Bhambri, who won his sixth ATP Challenger title in Pune in November. Asked about the first set against the Canadian world number 140, Bhambri said,“It was a nervous start but once I got my rhythm, I started playing more freely.” Bhambri will play former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis in his first round on Monday. Baghdatis, who made the final at Melbourne in 2006, had a difficult 2017 season which saw his ranking drop to 101. With inputs from PTI