Malaysian Open: Somdev sets up second round clash with Baghdatis
September 27th, 2011 - 8:41 pm ICT by IANS
Kuala Lumpur, Sep 27 (IANS) India’s Somdev Devvarman eked out a tight 7-6(5), 6-4 victory against Russian qualifier Mikhail Ledovskikh in the men’s singles opening round of the Malaysian Open tennis here Tuesday.
It took 89th-ranked Somdev one hour and 39 minutes to overcome 25-year-old Ledovskikh, ranked 309th.
Somdev, who is returning from a shoulder injury, now faces a second-round clash with Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. It was the Indian’s first win since the start of August, when he reached the second round in Washington before falling to Baghdatis.
“He’s (Ledovskikh) had some quality wins this week in qualifying so I’m just happy to be through,” said Somdev.
“I’m still not 100 per cent with my shoulder, but I wanted to give myself a chance by coming here to Kuala Lumpur. There’s some really good trainers that the ATP has and I’m just really happy to be pain free on the court today and to complete the match.”
“I have Baghdatis next. I’ll have to play really good tennis to beat him. I will have to play aggressively against him because if he gets on the front foot he’s very tough to beat.”
Baghdatis leads head-to-head against Somdev 2-1, the Indian’s only win coming at Indian Wells in staight sets earlier this year.
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- Somdev, Bopanna beaten at Leg Mason Tennis Classic - Aug 05, 2011
- Qualifier Somdev stuns Baghdatis, enters third round - Mar 13, 2011
- Davis Cup: Somdev happy with weather and courts - Sep 15, 2011
- Somdev stuns World No. 31 Raonic, Sania loses to Kirilenko (Lead) - Mar 26, 2011
- Somdev takes Baghdatis to three sets in Dubai - Feb 24, 2010
- Somdev in second round of Legg Mason Tennis Classic - Aug 03, 2011
- Somdev to play Starace in opening round at Miami - Mar 22, 2011
- 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
- US Open: Somdev hopes to play a competitive match against Murray (Preview) - Aug 28, 2011
- Sania stays in qualifying race, Somdev beaten - Aug 14, 2011
- Ecstastic Somdev short of words to describe his gold win - Nov 23, 2010
- Davis Cup: Somdev to lead India's challenge against Japan - Aug 19, 2011
- Safin, Baghdatis start turning their luck with LA wins - Jul 29, 2009
Tags: atp, baghdatis, clash, cypriot, India, indian wells, kuala lumpur, match, open tennis, shoulder injury, somdev devvarman, victory