India No 1 Ankita Raina got off to a solid start on US Open debut knocking out the ninth seed in three sets the first qualifying round in New York. However, Ramkumar Ramanathan’s quest for a Grand Slam main draw debut was prolonged as he bowed out in the first round.
Raina, world No 194, claimed a fighting 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 win over Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium in a topsy-turvy match to reach the second round of the qualifiers on Monday night. The match saw eight breaks of serve, with Raina winning five out six break chances while giving up serve three times and saving five break points.
The Indian has a winning record against the higher-ranked opponent and this was her third win in as many meetings against the Belgian.
Raina will next play Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic as she aims for her first Grand Slam main draw appearance. The Indian had skipped the US Open last year to play in the Asian Games, where she won the bronze medals in singles.
Ramkumar, who is India No 2 at world No 177, went down 7-5, 7-6 (9) to Filippo Baldi of Italy, ranked 145 in the world.
Sumit Nagal is the third Indian in the draw and has been drawn to play Tatsuma Ito of Japan.
Meanwhile, India No 1 Prajnesh Gunneswaran will be the sole Indian to have sealed his spot in the singles main draw by virtue of his ranking. This will be his fourth straight Grand Slam main draw.
