Devvarman Run Halted by Cilic in ATP Chennai Final
Posted on January 11, 2009The amazing run of NCAA-tennis-developed Indian Somdev Devvarman was finally halted in the ATP Chennai final when Croatian Marin Cilic turned in a 6-4, 7-6(3) winning effort for his third career title.
The unseeded wildcard-entry Devvarman, appearing in only his sixth ATP event out of college, failed to break two records: attempting to become the first Indian player since Leander Paes in 1998 to win an ATP title, and attempting to become the first NCAA champion to win an ATP title since Sargis "Sarge" Sargsian (Arizona State) in 1997.
"Losing is not fun, but I don't want to be too negative on myself," said Devvarman, whose weaponless game relies more on drawing mistakes from opponents. "I will try to learn from the chances I missed today and improve my game. I'm now looking forward to playing the qualifying in Melbourne and hope to play well there."
Cilic's big serve proved to be the difference-maker in the tiebreak to clinch the title.
"I always enjoy coming back to Chennai," Cilic said. "This was already my third time here and I always enjoy the passion of the crowd. Today it was a bit different of course since they supported Somdev and I'm glad that I managed to win in two sets. Somdev has been impressive this week and if he continues playing like this he can be in the Top 100 by the end of the year."
Devvarman's effort will bring him to the verge of cracking the Top 50 on the ATP Rankings. He captured the national collegiate title the last two years at the University of Virginia, defeating American John Isner of Georgia in 2007, and J.P. Smith of Tennessee in 2008.
"This was a great week for me and I hope to play more tour events in the upcoming months," said Devvarman. "It is my goal to move up further in the rankings and to become a better player."
The unseeded wildcard-entry Devvarman, appearing in only his sixth ATP event out of college, failed to break two records: attempting to become the first Indian player since Leander Paes in 1998 to win an ATP title, and attempting to become the first NCAA champion to win an ATP title since Sargis "Sarge" Sargsian (Arizona State) in 1997.
"Losing is not fun, but I don't want to be too negative on myself," said Devvarman, whose weaponless game relies more on drawing mistakes from opponents. "I will try to learn from the chances I missed today and improve my game. I'm now looking forward to playing the qualifying in Melbourne and hope to play well there."
Cilic's big serve proved to be the difference-maker in the tiebreak to clinch the title.
"I always enjoy coming back to Chennai," Cilic said. "This was already my third time here and I always enjoy the passion of the crowd. Today it was a bit different of course since they supported Somdev and I'm glad that I managed to win in two sets. Somdev has been impressive this week and if he continues playing like this he can be in the Top 100 by the end of the year."
Devvarman's effort will bring him to the verge of cracking the Top 50 on the ATP Rankings. He captured the national collegiate title the last two years at the University of Virginia, defeating American John Isner of Georgia in 2007, and J.P. Smith of Tennessee in 2008.
"This was a great week for me and I hope to play more tour events in the upcoming months," said Devvarman. "It is my goal to move up further in the rankings and to become a better player."