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.
