Somdev Devvarman, who on Friday became the first Indian to qualify for the opening round of the French Open since Leander Paes in 1997, credits his coaches for the achievement.
“I think all the credit has to go to my coaches Scott McCain and Milos Galecic. They’ve been pushing me to get better each and every day and it feels great to be playing some good tennis at the right time,” the top-ranked player in India told this newspaper from Paris.
Devvarman, who made his Grand Slam debut at last year’s US Open, will meet Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland in the first round of the claycourt major on Sunday.
The two players have met only once, with Somdev beating the Swiss in a Dubai ATP event earlier this year.
This will also be Chiudinelli’s first appearance in the singles event in the French Open.
Asked about his expectations and planning, he said, “I’m just looking forward to play some good tennis in the main draw. I think that everyone’s tough and I know I will have a tough match as well. So I will try and be as best prepared as I can be to get the job done.”
Devvarman is now eyeing the top-100 bracket with a good run at the Roland Garros.
Ranked 109 in the world, Devverman came through a crushing win against Daniel King-Turner in the second round of the qualifying round and then quelled the challenge of French rival Adrian Mannarino to clinch one of the 16 qualifying spots on Friday.
“I felt like I served well against Daniel King-Turner and that made the difference. Against Mannarino I felt like I competed really well and did a good job of making him earn every point,” the 25-year old said.
The French Open will be followed by the Davis Cup against Brazil at home in September.
“I am excited to play a home tie. Hopefully we can come out with a win and put India back into the World Group. Brazil have a really good team. They have some quality players and even though we play them at home we are going to have to play really well to beat them,” he said.