Citi Open: Somdev Devvarman stuns defending champion

Somdev Devvarman

Indian tennis number one Somdev Devvarman caused a major upset at the Citi Open in Washington DC by knocking out defending champion Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets to progress through to the third round of the ATP 500 event. The Indian defeated 9^th seeded Dolgopolov 6-3 7-6(4) in an hour and 21 minutes.

Devvarman started the match on a positive note by breaking the Ukrainian twice and securing the first set 6-3. The second set was more closely contested with Dolgopolov trying to make a comeback into the match, securing the break of serve on the only break point opportunity that he had.

However, Devvarman converted one of the seven break point chances that he had gathered to level the set and take it to a tie-break. Somdev managed to hold his nerve in the tie-break as he prevailed 7-4 to wrap up the match and book a round of 16 berth at the ATP 500 event. This result ensures that Devvarman will gain 45 ranking points along with the 10 points for qualifying, which could propel him closer to the top 100 in the world.

Devvarman has recorded back-to-back wins in the main draw of an ATP tournament for the first time since the Miami Masters in March.

Devvarman would now face the winner of the match between American 8^th seed John Isner and qualifier Alex Kuznetsov in the 3^rd round.