New Delhi:
Yuki Bhambri knocked out second seed Alexander Kudryavtsev in straight sets while defending champion Somdev Devvarman advanced to the second round of the Delhi Open after his opponent withdrew due to an injury suffered mid-way into the contest, here today.
Yuki, ranked 414, created a big upset by shocking the world number 127 from Russia 7-5 7-6(2) in one hour and 27 minutes.
Yuki, who played a memorable match against world number six Andy Murray at the Australian Open, put up a dominating show as he was in complete control of the first round contest.
He served well and his strokes, specially the forehand, had both power and precision. Even as he was broken in the very first game of the match, he had enough arsenal to not only comeback but also upset the second seed.
Fifth Somdev, who has won only two matches in five tournaments so far this season, advanced when Croatia’s Antonio Veic suffered an abdomen injury in the second game of the second set.
Somdev, ranked 153, lost the first set 4-6 and was leading the second 2-0, following a break of serve when Veic, ranked 234, found it tough to continue after whipping a forehand winner that caused him the injury.
“He was surely playing better than me,” Somdev remarked after the match. Somdev had lost to him in Zagreb in 2011 on clay.
India’s number one singles player is now up against another Croat in Nikola Mektic, who defeated Indian qualifier N Vijay Sundar Prashanth 7-6(5), 6-7(5) 7-6(5) in a grueling first round contest that lasted almost three hours.
Wild card Sanam Singh also advanced with a 6-1 4-6 6-2 win over Frenchman Fabrice Martin in one hour and 27 minutes, while Ramkumar Ramanathan eked out a hard fought 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4 win over German qualifier Richard Becker.
“I wanted to stay in the match. I had to show some attitude since he was serving great. I started serving to his forehand and found my rhythm gradually,” Ramkumar said after a battle of attrition on court number one.
