New Delhi: India's rising star Saketh Myneni moved to the second round of the Australian Open qualifying event with an easy win over compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan, but Somdev Devvarman's bid ended after losing in his first match in Melbourne.
Myneni, 28, hardly broke a sweat in his straight sets win over Ramkumar 6-4 6-1 in the opening round in 66 minutes. It was, however, an indifferent display from Ramkumar, who impressed everyone at the recently concluded Chennai Open. In a dream run, the 21-year-old prodigee from Chennai had reached the quarterfinals in the ATP 250 tournament.
Myneni broke Ramkumar once in the opening set and thrice in the second against Ramkumar's three break chances in the second set.
The 2014 Incheon Asian Games gold medallist will play Lorenzo Giustino of Italy in the next round, in a bid to join Yuki Bhambri in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Bhambri, thanks to his place inside top-100, has earned a direct entry into the singles main draw.
But former India number one Somdev suffered a 6-2 1-6 4-6 defeat to Estonia's Jurgen Zopp.
