Rohan Bopanna erased a one-set deficit to upset world number 51 Jose Acasuso and advance to the second round of the Malaysian Open while compatriot Somdev Devvarman made an early exit from the Thailand Open, losing his first round.
Qualifier Bopanna battled past the Argentine 4-6 6-3 6-4 in his opening round of the USD 947,750 hard court event here.
Bopanna, who is ranked as low as 447 in singles, will next take on fourth-seed and world number 12 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.
Bopanna improved his serve as the match progressed and broke Acasuso once in the second set to force a decisive set.
In the final set, the Indian Davis Cupper saved a breakpoint and converted his only chance to shock his opponent.
On Monday, Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, wild cards, had shocked fourth seeds Simon Aspelin of Sweden and Australia’s Paul Hanley 6-3 6-4 in the first round.
In Bangkok, Somdev could not make the most of his wild card as he went down fighting against Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6-7(7) 2-6 in the opening round of the USD 608,500 hard court event.
Somdev had plenty of chances in the first set but could convert only one of the four breakpoints. The second set saw him drop his serve twice while his opponent saved a breakpoint to deny the Indian the chance of a comeback.
