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Indian Tennis: When Somdev Devvarman reached the finals of ATP Chennai Open
Somdev Devvarman was one of the most promising singles players to represent India. An Arjuna and Padma Shri awardee, he was once ranked world number 62 in men’s singles. He made waves as a youngster by reaching three consecutive finals at the NCAA, winning two back to back titles for University of Virginia and also bagged a gold medal in men’s singles during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Apart from all these achievements, once Somdev also reached the final of the ATP Chennai Open.
Back in 2009, a 24-year-old Somdev entered the ATP Chennai Open as a wild card. How he entered the tournament didn’t matter as he blew away then world number 42 Carlos Moya of Spain and world number 25 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia during his run to the final.
Somdev became the first Indian to enter the final of ATP Chennai Open when his fifth seeded opponent and then world number 33 Rainer Schuettler withdrew from the match owing to an injury to his left wrist.
The entry to the final gave Somdev a brilliant opportunity to be the first Indian to win an ATP men’s singles final in more than 10 years as the last man to win an ATP men’s singles title for India was Leander Paes when he won the Newport Open back in 1998.
As fate would have it, Somdev faced his toughest opponent of the tournament, Marin Cilic of Croatia, in the final. The Indian youngster was of no match to the Croatian as Marin won the final 6-4, 7-6 in straight sets.
