Johannesburg: An ATP singles title slipped out of Somdev Devvarman’s hands for the second time in his career as the Indian lost the fiercely-fought summit clash of the SA Tennis Open to local favourite Kevin Anderson here on Sunday.
Unseeded Somdev, who was aiming to win his maiden ATP singles title, lost 6-4 3-6 2-6 to the fourth seed and world number 59 South African after playing scintillating tennis for two hours and 19 minutes.
It was for the second time that Somdev had made the title-round of an ATP event. He had reached the Chennai Open final in 2009 when he lost to Marin Cilic.
The last Indian to win an ATP title was Leander Paes, who beat South Africa’s Neville Godwin in 1998 at Hall of Fame Tennis championship to lift his first and only singles trophy.Before Somdev’s sparkling show at the 2009 Chennai Open, Prakash Amritraj had reached the final of Hall of Fame Tennis championship in Newport, United States, in July 2008.
Somdev paid the price of not converting three breakpoints in the sixth game of the final set when he was down 2-3 and could have levelled the scores.
But he not only failed to draw parity but dropped his own serve in the next game and Anderson had no trouble in serving out the match.However, Somdev’s ranking will get a boost after his brilliant show here as he earned 150 ranking points and also pocketed USD 40,300 as prize money.
Anderson got 250 points and USD 76,500 for his effort.
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.