Rajeev Ram surprises Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals – Hall of Fame Tennis Championships 2012
Making the biggest upset of the tournament, the world number 118, Rajeev Ram of USA, defeated the second seeded Japanese player, Kei Nishikori, in the quarter-finals at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport,
USA on Thursday.
Ram did not face much resistance from Nishikori and defeated the 18th ranked contestant in straight sets 7-6(6), 6-3 in only an hour and 38 minutes.
The American contender and his Japanese opponent did not allow each other to break serve in the opening 10 games and equalised the score at 5-5. Ram broke the ice finally by striking in the 11th to go up 6-5 but Nishikori
bounced back immediately to level the proceedings at 6-6 and force a tie-breaker. The Japanese player was near to winning the opener, as he raced to a 4-1 lead but Ram made a stunning turnaround by claiming seven of the following nine points and winning it
7-6(6).
Ram hit a single ace and 51 percent of the first serves, securing 19 of the 21 points on them. The American gave an average performance on the second deliveries and first returns, as he was able to win just 10 of the 20 and seven
of the 28 points on them respectively. The 28-year-old saved one of the two break points he faced and converted one of the three he received in the opener.
Carrying the winning momentum into the second set, Ram grabbed first three games to build a 3-0 advantage. The 6ft 4in tall player did not lose even a single one of his serves, marinating his lead till the end to capture it 6-3.
Ram made some drastic improvement in his serve performance, banging in five aces and grabbing 16 of the 22 first delivery points. The American also fared pretty well on the second ones, as he won eight of the 12. Though, the best
part of Ram’s game was his attacking responses to Nishikori’s second serves, winning eight of the 11 second return points. The American put away all the three breaks threats he came across and utilised the one opportunity he created in the second set.
The Denver, USA born will play former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt, in the semis.
On facing the Australian star in the next match, Ram said, “Lleyton is someone I grew up watching on TV. I respect him a lot.”
The American and Hewitt have met each other once in the past and the former won on that occasion.
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