Somdev Devvarman on Thursday pulled off the biggest win of his career upsetting former French Open champion Carlos Moya in the second round of the US$ 450,000 ATP Chennai Open. The 22-year old US collegiate champion overcame a first set lapse to shock two-time champion Moya 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and 11 minutes and advance to the quarter-finals.
Prakash Amritraj and Sunitha Rao lost by indentical scores in their respective first round qualifying matches at the US Open.
Somdev Devvarman began the new season on a winning note, carving out a straight set win over world number 114 Kevin Kim to make the second round even as Rohan Bopanna was knocked of $ 450,000 ATP Chennai Open on Tuesday.
Spaniard Rafael Nadal claimed to the No 1 position in the ATP Rankings on Monday, replacing his great rival Roger Federer of Switzerland, who had held the top spot for a record 237 consecutive weeks (since February 2, 2004). On the Indian front, Somdev Devvarman continued his ascent in the rankings, breaking into the top-250 after a quarter-final finish at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.
Besides the duo, 2017 World Weightlifting Champion in the 48kg category, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and former Asian Games gold medallist tennis player Somdev Devvarman were conferred with the Padma Shri award.
In winning his first ATP Challenger, Somdev Devvarman has made a smooth transition from college tennis to the professional tour and the double NCAA champion is already eyeing bigger things, one of which is the US Open.
India's Somdev Devvarman won the ATP Challenger in Lexington after crushing third-seeded Robert Kendrick in straight sets in the final on Sunday. Double NCAA champion Somdev cruised to an emphatic 6-3, 6-3 victory over his Californian opponent to extend his unbeaten streak to 15 since stepping on the tour.
Sanam Singh could not add a second consecutive Asian Games gold medal to his kitty as he and Saketh Myneni settled for silver after losing the hard-fought final in straight sets to Korea's Yongkyu Lim and Hyeon Chung, in Incheon on Monday.
Somdev Devvarman qualified for the ATP LA Open with a straight set win over American Alex Bogomolov Jr. but it was all over for Prakash Amritraj, who stumbled at the final hurdle. Second seed Somdev battled for one hour and 38 minutes to score a 7-5, 6-2 win over his sixth seed rival in the third and final qualifying round.
The unseeded Indian Davis Cupper upset world No 86 Bobby Reynolds 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the semi-finals of the hardcourt event. He will take on American fourth seed and world No 91 Robert Kendrick in the final.
Unseeded Indian Davis Cupper Somdev Devvarman beat third seed and world No 94 Jesse Levine of the United States 7-6(5), 6-2 to enter the semi-finals of the US $75,000 ATP Challenger in Nashville, US.
Indian Davis Cupper Somdev Devvarman defeated American qualifier Travis Rettenmaier 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the second round of the US $75,000 ATP Challenger in Nashville, US. He next plays American Sam Warburg, who ousted eighth seed Amer Delic 6-3, 7-6(8).
The Indo-Australian pair was beaten by the second-seeded Serbian pair of Llia Bozoljac and Dusan Vemic 6-1, 3-6, 11-13.
A bullish Sumit Nagal says he has learnt to control his inner demons and is ready to cause "more damage" on the ATP circuit after a spirited show against Roger Federer on his Grand Slam debut.
Indian Davis Cupper Prakash Ammritraj put up a valiant fight before losing to top seed Vincent Spadea in the quarter-finals of the US $50,000 Calabasas Challenger event in California, US. Amritraj, ranked 227 in the ATP charts, lost 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4) to his formidable American opponent, who is ranked as high as 89 in the list.
India's Somdev Devvarman and his Australian partner Nathan Healey stretched their impressive run in the US $ 50,000 Calabasas Challenger event, advancing to the semi-finals after beating Prakash Amritraj and Alex Kuznetsov in California. Somdev and Healey, who entered the event as qualifiers, beat the Indo-American pair 6-4, 4-6, 10-7 in the quarter-finals.
India's Davis Cup coach Nandan Bal says despite losing in both his matches, Somdev Devvarman was the find of the tie against Romania.
Ace Indian doubles duo Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won their doubles rubber against Romania to close the gap to 1-2 in the Davis Cup World Group Play-off.
Somdev Devvarman expresses confidence of a good showing ahead of India's Davis Cup match against Romania.
Mahesh Bhupathi on Thursday tipped Prakash Amritraj and new kid on the block Somdev Devvarman as ideal players for India's upcoming Davis Cup tie in Romania.
The Indian youngster took world No 18 Spaniard Nicolas Almagro to three sets before bowing out in the first round of the Euro 370000 BCR Open in Bucharesh.
Seeded 26th, the Indian Davis Cupper was beaten 0-6, 1-6 by third seed Marcos Daniel of Brazil in the final round of qualifiers, in Paris, on Friday.
Touching a new high, Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna on Monday became World No 3 player in the world with a jump of two places in the latest ATP ranking chart.
Russian Igor Kunitsyn ended the run of Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman with a 6-4, 6-1 victory in the quarter-finals of the Washington ATP.
India's Somdev Devvarman qualified for the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington DC with a straight sets victory over Japan's Go Soeda on Sunday. The 23-year-old beat second seed Soeda 7-5, 7-5 in the final qualifying round to set up a first round clash with American wildcard Taylor Dent.
Sania Mirza dropped 10 places to 60 while Somdev Devvarman rose to 320 in the rankings list released on Monday.
Somdev Devvarman made it to the last eight as his second round opponent, top seed Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei retired with an injury from the Vancouver Challenger.
Somdev Devvarman entered the final of the Lexington Challenger after Xavier Malisse retired from the semi-final with an injury.
Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman stretched his dream run to the semi-finals of the US $ 50,000 ATP Challenger tournament in Lexington after outplaying Italian Andrea Stoppini in straight sets. Somdev, who is in red-hot form, overwhelmed his Italian opponent 7-6 (5), 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the hard court event.
Somdev Devvarman beat USA's Bobby Reynolds 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round at the Lexington Challenger.
Somdev Devvarman staged a spirited fight back to beat Korean Davis Cupper Kyu Tae Im 6-7 (7-4), 6-2, 6-2 and move to the second round of the US $50,000 ATP Challenger in Los Angeles. In the men's doubles, Harsh Mankad and his American partner Scott Oudsema stunned Thai second seeds Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals.
Somdev Devvarman recorded his first Davis Cup win to keep India afloat in the second round tie against Chinese Taipei as both the teams were locked 1-1 on the opening day of the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I tie in Kaohsiung (Chinese Taipei) on Friday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
India's top singles star lifted his third ATP Challenge title as he outclassed top seed Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the $ 100,000 ONGC-GAIL Open in New Delhi on Sunday.
The 29-year-old dismissed suggestions that his Australian Open appearance could motivate more players in the world's second-most populous country.
Victor Hanescu and Victor Crivoi beat Somdev Devvarman and Prakash Amritraj respectively to give Romania a decisive 2-0 lead in the Davis Cup play-off match. Hanescu thundered his way to a 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 win over young Devvarman after Crivoi had got past an erratic Amritraj 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in the first singles of the day.
The seventh seed Indian overcame stiff resistance from American Daniel Nguyen before prevailing 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(5) in the rain-hit final that lasted three hours and 31 minutes, turning out to be the longest summit clash in the ATP Challenger Tour history.
The Indian qualifier beat former world No 21 Taylor Dent 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 in the first round of the Washington ATP.
Maintaining her rich vein of form in the current season, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black bagged the women's doubles title at the WTA Toray Pacific Open with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Spain's Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro.
How the 22-year-old Indian reached the Show Court at US Open, finding himself against 20-time Grand Slam Champion Roger Federer after beginning the year outside 350.