Somdev Devvarman progresses to second round at Delhi ATP Challenger

New Delhi, Feb 18 (IANS): Second-seeded Somdev Devvarman progressed to the second round of the men’s singles at the ONGC GAIL Delhi Open $100,000 ATP Challenger tennis tournament with a straight-sets win here Tuesday.

Somdev, who is ranked 96th in the world, beat compatriot and wildcard entrant Karunuday Singh 6-2, 7-5 in an hour and 27 minutes.

However, the match wasn’t as one-sided as the scoreline suggests.

Karunuday, who is ranked 483rd, had four break point opportunities in the first set but failed to convert any. In contrast, Somdev converted two of the three break points on offer to take the first set.

Both players upped the ante in the second. Somdev won 60 percent points on his first serve and returned brilliantly as well, winning 59 percent of the points.

Karunuday had a higher percentage of his first serves in but had little answer to the returning prowess of the higher-ranked Indian.

Somdev converted four of the six break points to edge out his compatriot to set up a clash with the winner of the match between Ti Chen (Chinese Taipei) and Di wu (China).