Somdev, Prakash close to qualifying for LA Open

Los Angeles: Somdev Devvarman and Prakash Amritraj are one step away from making the singles` main draw

of the USD 630,500 ATP LA Open after advancing to the third and final round of the qualifying event here.The second seed Somdev beat his Slovakian opponent 6-1, 7-6(1) while unseeded Prakash defeated Germany`s Frank Moser 7-6(6), 6-1 in his second round. Somdev, who made the semifinal of the Aptos Challenger, will next take on American sixth seed Alex Bogomolov Jr. Prakash will fight it out with fifth seed American Ryan Sweeting. Meanwhile, Somdev has slipped 25 places to 152 in the ATP rankings issued today. Bureau Report