Somdev Devvarman applauded the young Indian tennis team for winning five medals including a gold and a silver in the Asian Games in Incheon. Training at the DLTA Complex in preparation for the $50,000 Challenger in Indore next week, Somdev talked to the media, expressing his happiness about India having five Challenger tournaments this season.
Even as he appreciated the efforts of the national federation in hosting such events which helped the players break into the big league, he was appreciative of the ability of the current crop of players to capitalise on the big events at home.
Somdev had won the singles title in the $100,000 Challenger in Delhi in February while Yuki won the event in Chennai. Saketh Myneni and Sanam Singh who went on to win the Asian Games silver as a pair had won two Challenger doubles titles at home.
“Somdev said that it was a good situation with a clutch of players pushing each other and projecting a healthy image of Indian tennis.
Having missed qualifying for the Davis Cup World Group by one match, Somdev said that he would continue to aim for the elite group as the Indian team was shaping up stronger.
Mixed luckAbout his own game, Somdev said that it was a season of mixed fortunes, and he was perhaps guilty of making wrong decisions in terms of planning his schedule.
However, he was particularly pleased with the way he contested the singles and doubles finals in the Shanghai Challenger, and said that he would have had two titles had he handled three points differently in those two matches.
He looked forward to the Champions League and was thrilled about Mahesh Bhupathi conducting the challenging international league with the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
