Somdev crashes out of first round of Chennai Open

From a high of 62 in July 2011, injuries and not-so-good performances from Somdev, have caused his ranking to plummet to an unsatisfactory 138. Since the ATP finals loss to US Open champion Marin Celic in 2009, things really haven’t turned around for India’s best single’s player.

Aircel Chennai Open’s first round was no different as the poster boy lost to Yen Husn Lu 3-6, 4-6. Somdev initially showed promise but choked later losing to sixth seeded and 38 ranked Chinese Taipei player in 80 minutes. An error-prone Somdev, a wild card entrant failed to raise his game in his 11th appearance in the ATP event. The 29-year-old top Indian on the ATP World Tour is making his sixth main draw appearance (5-5 record).

Disappointed with his performance, he insisted that he still has a lot of tennis left in him and is sure of bouncing back. When asked about losing the first round match in back to back tournaments here, Somdev said, “Obviously disappointing result. More disappointment for me than anybody else. No other way to see it.”

“Lu played better than me. Obviously he put pressure on me at 3-3 in the second set. He is a quality player and he won today,” 29-year-old Somdev said in the post-match press conference. Somdev said he will stay focused on his future plans.

“The Australian Open is coming for me. I am very excited. Now I will go out and play there and win a few good matches and give it my best. After that regardless of whatever happens I will play in Challengers. My goal to getting back to top 100 has never changed. For me it is question of how I can get my game up. I have better tennis than what I had showcased today. I just stand positive and give my best,” he emphasized.

Talking about his plans to get back to the top 100, he added, “The planning does not stop. I have to work hard. May be I did not work hard. Obviously set backs are going to happen. It is never going to be easy, especially for me it has always been hard work. It never is going to stop.”