Ramkumar Ramanathan beat Ernesto Escobedo of the US 7-6(6), 6-3 in the first round of the €44,820 Challenger tennis tournament in Antalya, Turkey.

It was the first victory in three meetings for the 26-year-old Ramkumar, ranked 190 in the world, against the 24-year-old American.

Two weeks ago, Ramkumar missed the Australian Open singles cut after losing to Chinese Taipei's Tung-Lin Wu in the second round of the qualifiers in Doha.

The results:

€44,820 Challenger, Antalya, Turkey

Singles (first round): Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Ernesto Escobedo (US) 7-6(6), 6-3.