By IANS,
Lexington (Kentucky) : India’s Somdev Devvarman carried his awesome collegiate form into his fledgling pro Tour tennis as he raced to his maiden Challenger title, beating American Robert Kendrick 6-3, 6-3 in the final of the $50,000 Lexington tournament Sunday.
Devvarman thus won a title in his very first Tour appearance, coming through qualification. The victory has taken him past 221 heads in the ATP singles rankings to 345th spot Monday.
This was the fourth consecutive title for the reigning NCAA champion since he turned pro after passing out of the University of Virginia in May.
The 23-year-old India’s new tennis sensation has remained unbeaten on the tour. He first won the the $10,000 Buffalo Bills tournament in Rochester, then the $10,000 Futures event in Pittsburgh, New York’s Kennedy Funding Invitational and now at Lexington.
His red-hot form can be gauged by the fact that despite having to qualify for his first Challenger event, Devvarman dropped just two sets in eight matches in the entire week. He dropped one set in the opening match of the qualifiers and another while upsetting second seed Bobby Reynolds in the second round.
The Indian has beaten three Top-100 players in the four tournaments. Sam Querrey and Dudi Sela in New York and here number 92 Reynolds bore the burnt of Devvarman’s stunning form.
Devvarman now moves to Vancouver to play in the $100,000 Odlum Brown Open this week.
If he wins in Vancouver, Devvarman’s rankings will get a massive boost and he will take one more step to break into the top-100