Indian tennis star Somdev Devvarman booked his spot in the second round of the ATP Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur 2011 after he defeated Russian qualifier Mikhail Ledovskikh 7-6(7-5), 6-4 in the day’s second match on Centre Court here at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
The 25-year-old world No.305 qualifier threatened to pull off another upset when he stretched the No.89 Indian into a tie-break in the first set, but Devvarman overcame the Russian’s challenge to seal the victory in straight sets.
The 26-year-old Indian, who won the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold for India last year, has recently recovered from a shoulder injury that has ruled him off the court for the last two weeks.
“He (Ledovskikh) has been playing some good tennis this tournament so I wasn’t expecting an easy game. I’m still not 100% yet (due to my shoulder injury) so I’m happy with the win and it was great to be out there and pain-free today. The ATP trainers have been fantastic in helping me out,” said Devvarman after the game.
On his next match, he added, “Baghdatis is a very good player who has been playing well recently – I will have to be aggressive against him and not let him control the game,”
In the day’s first game on Centre Court, German Phillip Petzschner
defeated countryman Mischa Zverev 7-5, 6-3 in 72 minutes to also book his second round spot in the singles draw.
The US Open Doubles winner Petzschner is currently on Centre Court again with Austrian partner Jurgen Melzer as they kick off their Malaysian Open doubles campaign as the top seeds.
On Court 1, Spaniard Albert Ramos moved into the second round of the tournament after his higher ranked opponent, Mikhail Kukushni of Kazakhstan, retired in the third set after 2 hours and 10 minutes. The 23-year-old Ramos had lost the first game 4-6, but had clawed his way back into the match, winning the second 6-3 and leading the third 4-2 when Kukushkin retired due to injury. Ramos will meet top seed and fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in the second round.
Meanwhile, Polish star Lukasz Kubot beat Czech Lukas Rosol 6-3, 6-3 in the day’s second game on Court 1 to also stake his place in the next round against the winner of tonight’s match between Russian Nikolay Davydenko and American sensation Ryan Harrison. - Karan (Malaysian Open)
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