Somdev hopeful of strong result in Chennai Open
December 30th, 2010 - 7:52 pm ICT by IANS
Chennai, Dec 30 (IANS) India’s No.1 Somdev Devvarman hopes to go one better and clinch the 2011 Aircel ATP Chennai Open tennis, beginning here Jan 3. Somdev made it to the final in 2009, when he lost to Croat Marin Cilic.
The 25-year-old Indian Davis Cupper, however, prefers to focus on his first round opponent who will be known Saturday when the lots will be drawn for the 32-player main draw of the $450,000 tournament.
Somdev is the only Indian to receive an automatic direct entry into the main draw in view of his ranking, 108, and as such, the expectations are high.
“There are talented players like Thomas Berdych, Marin Cilic and Janko Tipsarevic, but the most important thing to me is who I am playing first, as I will only progress to the later rounds only if I cross the first stage,” he said at a media interaction here Thursday.
The qualifying rounds will commence Saturday.
In 2009, Somdev came up with an astonishing performance to reach the final after receiving a walk-over from one of the tournament favourites Rainer Schuettler of Germany in the semi-finals.
Devvarman was then ranked 202 and his Chennai Open showing proved to be the turning point in his fledgling tennis career as he made steady progress through the rankings thereafter, breaking into top-100 this year.
In the 2010 edition, Somdev, again receiving a wild card, lost in the second round to Tipsarevic after getting past Schuettler in the opening round.
Despite the pre-tournament hype around him, Devvarman, winner of the singles gold medals at the Commonwealth and Asian Games this year, admitted he needed to play at much higher level if he hoped to win the title.
“Obviously, that was a great result and I’ve had a good pre-season.I am looking forward to the Chennai Open.
“My game is a bit passive, so I’ve been trying to retrieve balls more often. Against top players, you don’t get too many chances, and so you will have to take them,” he said.
Somdev has set himself various targets in 2011 and those obviously include getting into top 75 and then 50.
- Devvarman plays Schuettler, Bopanna meets Wawrinka - Jan 02, 2010
- Strong field for Chennai Open - Nov 24, 2011
- Title favourite Soderling will not have it easy - Jan 03, 2010
- 2010 Chennai Open promises high-octave action - Jan 02, 2011
- Somdev gets direct entry in Chennai Open - Nov 25, 2010
- Somdev eyes Olympic spot, top-50 position in 2012 - Dec 26, 2011
- Injured Cilic drops out of Chennai Open - Dec 13, 2011
- Somdev crashes out of ATP Farmers Classic - Jul 29, 2010
- Aircel ATP Tennis: Nishikori eliminates champ Cilic - Jan 03, 2011
- Devvarman stuns Cilic, avenges Chennai Open defeat - Aug 05, 2009
- Wimbledon: Somdev, Sania to shoulder India's singles challenge - Jun 19, 2011
- Wimbledon: Somdev, Sania to spearhead India's singles challenge (Lead) - Jun 19, 2011
- Chennai Open: Bopanna starts campaign against Wawrinka - Jan 01, 2011
- Somdev gets top billing at Singapore ATP Challenger - Jan 23, 2011
- Indians knocked out of Chennai Open singles (Roundup) - Jan 05, 2011
Tags: aircel, asian games, astonishing performance, atp chennai, cupper, gold medals, hopeful, janko tipsarevic, marin cilic, media interaction, open tennis, rainer schuettler, semi finals, somdev devvarman, steady progress, talented players, tennis career, thomas berdych, turning point, wild card