Somdev Devvarman through to the fourth round of BNP Paribas Open
World number 84 Somdev Devvarman of India upset world number 52 Xavier Malisse of Belgium in three sets 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(5) in the third round at the BNP Paribas Open on Monday.
The Indian was almost flawless in the opening set as he lost only one game, winning the set 6-1. He fired in 3 aces and 95 per cent of the first serves in the opening set. Devvarman won 71 per cent of the points on his first serves.
He did not face a single break point in the opening set.
After losing the first set miserably, Malisse fought back in the second set. He needed a single break of serve to win the second set 6-3.
The Belgian hit 4 aces and 52 per cent of the first serves in the second set. On the other hand, Devvarman did not serve that well in the second set as he hit a single ace and just 43 per cent of the first serves. The Indian could
not save the only break point he faced in the second set.
In the final set, both players failed to break each other’s serve, forcing a tie-break. Devvarman managed to clinch the mini-break in the tie-break to win it 7-5.
The Indian delivered 46 per cent of the first serves in the deciding set, winning 84 per cent of the points on them. In comparison, Malisse hit 44 per cent of the first serves and converted a whopping 93 per cent of them into points.
Talking to the journalists after the match, Devvarman said, “It's one of those things when you're playing with confidence, playing well, you want to keep playing, and it doesn't happen too often.”
The Indian added, “I mean, for Rafa and Fed it does, but for the majority of the players it's one of those things you want to kind of ride the momentum and keep playing, keep playing with adrenaline, and hope for the best in your
next matches.”
The 26-year-old Indian upset world number 22 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in straight sets 7-5, 6-0 in the second round. He is having a great run this year. He had not won a single match in a Masters Series event prior to last week.
Earlier in the season, the right handed reached the final at the SA Open, where he lost to local hero Kevin Anderson in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 2-6.
Devvarman is drawn to face world number 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain in the fourth round. This will be the first meeting between these two.
The top seed thrashed world number 105 Ryan Sweeting of USA in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 in the third round.
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