CHANDIGARH:?Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni handed India a convincing 2-0 lead on the opening day of their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania second round tie in Chandigarh on Friday. While Ramkumar had a hard-fought 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, 6-5 win over Seong-Chan Hong in the opening rubber, Saketh outlasted Yong-Kyu Lim, quite literally, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 5-2.Indias decision to host the tie on grass proved to be a prudent one with the Koreans wilting under hostile weather conditions and an unfamiliar surface. Both the Korean players, Hong and Lim, stiff from spasms and visibly undone, conceded their respective matches against Ramkumar and Saketh respectively.While Saketh too battled spasms in the latter part of his rubber, what worked in his favour was that his opponent too was contending with a similar predicament. For one, it seemed bizzare that three out of the four players in action suffered from spasms. Thankfully India managed to limp to a lead. Unless something goes horribly wrong, the seasoned duo of Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna should be able to comfortably wrap up the tie for India on Saturday and romp into the World Group playoff.Making his Davis Cup debut, 21 year-old Ramkumar, who has been training in Barcelona since the last five years, showed just why the faith reposed in him as Indias next best singles hope isnt misplaced. I think I handled the pressure well. I didnt allow it to get to me. Even if he had not conceded, I was confident of pulling it off, Ramkumar reflected after the match.Breaking his opponent, ranked No 427, in the seventh game of the first set, with a blistering forehand, Ramkumar nosed ahead to a 4-3 lead. Though there were occasions when his serve didnt seem menacing enough, like in the eighth game, where he was guilty of three double faults, the Chennai boy showed the heart and legs to take the first set 6-3.Defying forecasts, the rain gods chose not to mar play, with the sultry conditions seemingly sapping both players of power. Coming into the spotlight after upsetting Indias then No 1 singles Somdev Devvarman in the opening round of the Chennai Open in 2015, Ramkumar stepped it up from the third set, his serves landing deep and hard and the deft volleys leaving a tiring Hong scrambling all over the court.With Ramkumar serving for the match at 6-5 in the fourth set, Hong shanked a double handed backhand into the mesh before bending over double, holding his right leg, in what appeared to be a spasm, in visible pain. Conceding the rubber within minutes, a grimacing Hong was carried away from the court by his teammate. Saketh, despite being in visible discomfort from the fag end of the third set, managed to pull himself through. Breaking Lim in the opening game of the fifth set proved to be crucial.Swallowing the pain, he held serve and broke Lim in the fifth game before racing to a 5-1 lead. At 5-2 with Saketh serving for the match, sapped of any power to cobble up a resistance, Lim fell on his back and lay motionless as the Indian camp erupted with joy. Lou Whitaker Jersey . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. Detroit Tigers Shirts . 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SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- It was less than a year ago that the?Dallas Cowboys star rookie duo of running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott were at the NFL Combine attempting to woo potential suitors through myriad tasks testing their mental and physical attributes. Today, the two are starters in the NFL on the current best team in the league, at 8-1, and first-rounder Elliot could challenge for league MVP.On Tuesday at the LCS Arena near the beaches of Los Angeles, 20 League of Legends amateurs began their own journey to write the script of their future careers. Under the support of four NA LCS teams in Immortals, Counter Logic Gaming, Echo Fox and Team Liquid, four teams were born to represent the elemental Drakes inside Summoners Rift: Mountain (IMT), Cloud (CLG), Infernal (FOX) and the aptly dubbed Ocean (TL).These ramshackle squads were represented by members of the team guiding the rookies through the combine. CLGs Ocean, for example, had both captain Zaqueri Aphromoo Black and head coach Tony Zikzlol Gray to shepherd the prospects. From there, the brainy quartet sat down in a private room to commence the drafting portion of the event, dividing the rookies into four even teams. The first overall pick, to Ocean, was jungler Omar OmarGod Amin, who entered the rookie field as one of the favorites to impress in the weeklong test of skills.Following the top selection, AD carry Deftly was selected by Team Infernal, mid laner Tuesday was picked up by Mountain, and another jungler, Wiggily, was scooped up by Liquids Team Ocean to round out the first-round picks.After the draft, the players dispersed into their newly chosen tribes and put on fresh uniforms to begin their quest to be the last team standing at the end of the week. The teams will play through Friday night, and a standout player might find himself earning a contract from one of the observing NA LCS clubs. While the players got to know each other, the first day was essentially up to the teams themselves -- no official matches are scheduled until Wednesday night.A team could have theoretically taken their respective rookies to an amusement park for the day; however, as expected, teams went straight into working, with scrimmages scheduled into the nightt.dddddddddddd Also, each team was partnered with a media crew, and ESPN Esports was selected to cover Team Mountain for the duration of the tournament.While several teams stayed at the LCS Arena studios to play in the scrimmage rooms, Team Mountain trekked to the Immortals team house to get the full experience of playing as professionals. A few players reflected on the feeling of sitting in the chairs of some of the elites in the league, such as former MVP and 2016 all-star Kim Reignover Ui-jin.We only get to train them for so many hours for so many days. We wanted to make sure all of our picks were above average or better, Team Mountain coach and new Immortals strategic head coach David Hermes Tu said after a pair of scrimmages to begin the day. We werent shooting too high, like star players, and we werent shooting too low. We didnt want any problem [players] we couldnt resolve by the end of the week, so I think we started out our draft strong.On what he looks to get out of the experience, he said his teams victories would be his own.[Ill enjoy] hopefully what they will enjoy, which is to make sure they know its not about winning, although winning is nice, Hermes said. It might be their sole experience and being exposed to what professional play is like and whether if they want to do it or not. I hope it gives them a good perspective of what is ahead of them.Although a winner will be crowned at the end of the combine, Hermes preached learning and achieving goals as a unit over taking the top prize. With only four days to play together before the event is over, this could be the one chance these players have to separate themselves from the faceless slew of amateurs in the North American ladder.A team house, dedicated scrims, playing side-by-side with your teammates and a legitimate coaching staff behind you make for an opportunity of a lifetime for Team Mountain.Tuesday, the top pick of the team, is confident he can impress in the mid lane, but itll take a five-man effort to stand above the rest. The official games begin Wednesday, and the hopes of a few prospects will begin to be snuffed out. ' ' '