Somdev gets a tough first round at Australian Open

Melbourne: India`s wild card entrant Somdev Devvarman was on Friday handed a tough draw at the Australian Open as he is pitted against world number 51 Tommy Robredo in the first round of the men`s singles event here. Somdev, ranked 110 in the world, was awarded one of the two wild cards for Asian players by the organisers of the first Grand Slam of the season. Somdev had never managed to get into the main draw as he failed in his previous two attempts in the qualifiers. If Somdev manages to cross the first hurdle, he will be up against either Victor Hanescu of Romania or 16th seed American Mardy Fish. Sania Mirza, meanwhile, is going through the qualifiers for an entry into the the women`s singles main draw.She has cleared the first round and will face Russia`s Vitalia Diatchenko next. In the men`s doubles, the `Indian-Express` of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi is returning to the court together after a gap of the 11 years with an aim to win the elusive Australian Open trophy. This is the only Grand Slam the duo have not won in their successful career. PTI