Monday, February 24, 2014

Somdev conquers Delhi Open in style with crushing victory



India's top singles star Somdev Devvarman lifted his third ATP  Challenge title as he outclassed top seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-3 6-1 in the final of the USD 100,000 ONGC-GAIL Open in New Delhi on Sunday.
The start to the title clash was great but Nedovyesov's challenge fizzled out as the game wore on.  The way Somdev dominated the proceedings was evident with the fact that he conceded just 10 points on his eight service games.  Out of these, five were conceded only in the fifth game of the second set.
Playing his fourth Challenger level final, Somdev needed 59 minutes to bag his third title and first since 2010 when he had triumphed in Izmir Turkey. His first title came in 2008 in Lexington, USA.
Nedovyesov was gunning for his fourth Challenger title but it was not his day. Nothing worked for him even as he made a superb start, hinting a cracker of contest was in store.  Playing three three-set matches, including one during his doubles campaign, in the tournament had taken all his energy. He admitted that he was mentally exhausted coming into the final.  Nevertheless, Somdev's dominance was a treat for close to 3000 fans, who had turned up to watch country's number one player in action at R K Khanna Tennis stadium.
Somdev Kishore Devvarman is a professional Indian tennis player. He hit the headlines for being the only collegiate player to have made three consecutive finals at the NCAA, winning back-to-back finals in his junior and senior years. Only three other players have matched that record since 1950. His 44–1 win-loss record in 2008 at NCAA Men's Tennis Championship is unprecedented. His best achievement so far on the ATP World Tour has been reaching the finals of the Chennai Open in 2009, as a wild card entry. In 2010, Somdev won the Gold medal in the Men's Singles event of XIXth Commonwealth Games at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium in New Delhi and followed it up with both Men's Singles and Doubles Gold in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. He is coached by Scott McCain.
In 2011, Devvarman received the Arjuna Award from the Indian government for his national tennis successes.