Aug. 2: Somdev Devvarman became only the second Indian after Leander Paes to break into the top-100 on the ATP rankings computer, reaching a career-high 96th on Monday. Somdev climbed seven places in the chart and now has 540 points.
The 25-year-old is the first Indian in 11 years to achieve the feat. On the occasion, tennis ace Ramanathan Krishnan was all praise for Somdev, said, “I’m happy that an Indian tennis players has achieved this difficult task after a long time.” “Somdev must work harder to keep the momentum going because he will now be a marked man. The pressure on him will be intense. Professional tennis is so competitive these days that Somdev will not have time to relax,” he said.
Akhtar Ali, who was a member of the 1976 Davis Cup squad that reached the final, said, “It is an excellent achievement from the young lad. Somdev has been working really hard and the results are there for all to see. What sets him apart from the rest of the national players is his temperament. He makes his opponents work for every point. His fitness is top-class.”
For his part, Somdev said now he has to keep working on his strength. “I have to keep working on my game, take one step at a time and walk slowly and surely I will get better with time. Right now I am really motivated and now that I am in the top 100, may be I can reach 75, and then 50 and continue my run,” Somdev said.
Somdev said his immediate focus would be to do well in the US Open later this month and then playing the Davis Cup play-off against Brazil at home from September 17 to 19. “I would look to compete in the US Open and then coming to India for the Davis Cup tie against Brazil before I look at the Commonwealth Games,” he said.