Johnson Will Face 1st Time APT Finalist Ramanathan For Newport Crown

After semi-final matches are all done and dusted, the winners are now preparing for the final event to be held on the grounds of International Tennis Hall of Fame. All the members of semifinal matches were hoping to earn the Newport title for the first time. The first match featured 30 year old American Tim Smyczek against 23-year old Indian Ramkumar Ramanathan. Ramanathan ranks at no. 161 in the world while Smyczek ranks at no. 123 in the world.

Ramanathan's week at the game has been pretty thrilling. First, he took down Denis Kudla and then earned another impressive victory over Vasek Pospisil, a former top-30 player. His wildfire game continued with semi-final against Smyczek. He won a 6-4, 7-5 win over him in over 90 minutes. He is the first Indian to reach ATP World Tour singles finals since Somdev Devvarman who reached it more than 7 years back.

The second semifinal between Steve Johnson and Marcelo Granollers was a match between two very experienced players. Johnson is ranked at no.48 and has played four semi-finals. He won the match. This is the sixth singles final of his career. And now, the American has a chance to win his fourth title.

By: Neha Maheshwari

Content: http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2018/07/steve-johnson-ramkumar-ramanathan-newport-open-final/75478/