Maharashtra Open 2020: All-Indian pair Ramkumar-Purav Raja oust Leander Paes-Ebden, advance to semis

On Thursday, Indian doubles pair of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Purav Raja entered semi-finals by beating tennis legend Leander Paes and Matthew Ebden in men's doubles of the Maharashtra Open in Pune. made exit alongside partner Matthew Ebden. Ramanathan-Raja overpowered Paes-Ebden quite easily, winning 6-2, 6-1 in the straight sets.

It was a day of upsets at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune. First, the only Indian in the fray in the men's singles, Prajnesh Gunneswaran lost to Soon Woon Kwon and bowed out despite a spirited performance. Then, there was the heartbreak for Paes, who is in his last year as a professional tennis player.

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The 46-year-old, a record six-time champion in doubles at the Indian ATP, could not get going and his partner, Ebden faltered as well. 15 minutes into the game, Ramanathan and Raja led 4-1 by just keeping things simple. Soon Paes and Ebden conceded the first set, rather tamely, but no one had expected that the second set would go in a similar fashion.

Ramanathan and Raja were on top form as they played with flair. Paes showed glimpses of his brilliance with a couple of exquisite and precise volleys but could not do much to deny the all-Indian pair who wrapped up the second set and the match in quick time.

Ramanathan and Raja will now face Jonathan Erlich/ Andrei Vasilevski in the semifinals. They are the only Indian representation left in this ATP 250 tournament and it remains to be seen if they can go on to win a title on home soil.

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As for Paes, this was not his last tournament in the country. He will turn out at next week's Bengaluru Open where he will hope to finish his Indian swansong on a perfect note.