New Delhi: Ramkumar Ramanathan gave India a perfect start against Denmark in the Davis Cup World Group Playoff 1 tie, defeating lowly-ranked Christian Sigsgaard in the first singles 6-3, 6-2 at the Delhi Gymkhana Club here on Friday.

World No. 170, Ramkumar was at his best from the first game, breaking the services of his 24-year-old opponent regularly and grabbing points with ease.

The 27-year-old Ramkumar caught the world No. 824 Christian off-guard from the beginning, and took the lead in the very first game. He raced to 5-2 in no time and sealed the first set with a beautifully-crafted backhand stroke.

In the second set, both players held their serves, but Ramkumar broke the Dane in the third game and took a 2-1 lead. After that, the winner of the Adelaide trophy this year broke Christian's serve two times in a row, and completely took control of the match.

Christian tried hard to come back into the match, but Ramkumar did not give him much space and won the second set with an ace. IANS