Washington: Somdev Devvarman registered the
biggest win of his fledgling career when the wiry Indian
upstaged sixth seeded Marin Cilic in straight sets in the
second round of the USD 1.4 million Legg Mason Tennis Classic
here.
The Indian qualifier, who lost to Cilic in his maiden ATP
final in the Chennai Open earlier this year, took one hour and
42 minutes to sent the Croatian packing 7-5, 6-4 to reach the
third round where he would meet either the big-hitting
Croatian Ivo Karlovic or German Raine Scheuttler.
"It's definitely the biggest win of my career. He's a
great player. He's in top 15 already and on his way to the top
10," Somdev gushed after the win.
"All along I played well. My plan was to compete as hard
as possible. I took my chance and I'm proud of the result,"
said Somdev who saved five of the seven break points that his
opponent had.
Cilic had ended Somdev's dream run in January in Chennai,
where the 24-year-old had reached his first ATP final with
wins over players like Carlos Moya and Ivo Karlovic.
Somdev said he did not have any butterflies in the
stomach in the second round match and neither was he out to
settle an old score.
"It wasn't my first Tour final tonight so I wasn't as
nervous going out," said the 153rd-ranked Indian.
"But there was no (revenge factor) for my loss to him in
Chennai. There's no ill feelings. We were just two competitors
out there today," Somdev added.
Somdev, who won the NCAA singles titles in 2007-08 while
playing collegiate tennis at nearby University of Virginia,
said competing in the qualifying rounds gave him an advantage
against Cilic.
"I already had three matches under my belt and this was
his first match of the tournament. I just wanted to go out
there and play my game, compete as hard as I could and let the
chips fall where they may," said the youngster.
Having played a lot of tennis at the University of
Virginia, Somdev had enough support from the stands and if he
can pull off a couple of more surprises, he might run into top
seed Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals of the hardcourt
event.
"Andy who?" quipped Somdev.
"I'm aware of where I am but I have to take it one match
at a time," he said.
On a more serious note, he said, "I've put in a lot of
work. I'm doing things the right way.”
""I'll take a deep breath when I have some breathing
space," said Somdev who played four matches in as many days.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, August 05, 2009, 11:43