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India’s Somdev Devvarman qualified for the main draw of the US Open in New York with a typically resilient 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Britain’s James Ward to reserve a spot on the cards for the final grand slam event of the year. Somdev survived a mid match stutter, recovering from losing the second set and an early break in the final set to retain a spot in the main draw for the fifth consecutive year.
The 113th ranked Indian made the most of Ward’s service glitches to convert both the break points offered to him in the first set. Ward managed to bring less than half of his first serves into play in a 38 minute first set. Somdev took advantage, saving three of four break points faced on his serve to snatch the first set from his English opponent.
The 175th-ranked Ward turned the tables in the second set, rewriting the script to create a mirror image of the first set. Not only did the American improve on his first serve, taking it up to nearly 60%, but he also won as many as half the points on Somdev’s serve to pile the pressure back on the Indian star. Ward converted two out of five chances to break even as he defended each of the four break points faced to seal the set in 40 minutes.
Somdev had defeated Brazilian Fabiano de Paula 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of qualifiers. The sixth seeded Indian then fought a spirited battle to eliminate the 2005 US Open semi-finalist Robby Ginepri in a thrilling second round encounter. Somdev’s 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-2 victory in the second round took him one step closer to qualifying for next week’s main event. Ward is ranked 62 places beneath the Indian, but he was making life difficult for Somdev with a steely effort.
Somdev stuttered early in the decider and despite saving two break points, he could not prevent Ward from taking it on the third opportunity. Ward consolidated for a 3-1 lead, but Somdev broke serve on his first chance to do so in the sixth game to tie scores and get the match back on an even keel. In the next game, Somdev made it three in a row to take the lead for the first time in the final set.
Under pressure, Ward offered another break point to Somdev in the eighth game. But egged on by a motley bunch of supporters on court 7, Ward found the resolve needed to avert the break and stay with Somdev at 4-4. With the Indian racing to a quick hold in the ninth, Ward found himself serving to stay in the match. The Brit faltered under the burden, as he offered a match point to the Indian at 30-40.
Somdev took it with both hands as he sealed a place in the US Open main draw with his second straight three set victory. The Indian needed two hours and 15 minutes to eke out a hard fought win to secure a place in the final major of the tennis season. In the intense final set, Somdev kept his sheet clean, not even a single unforced error came off his racket. Ward threw in a couple of double faults at critical junctures to hurt himself during the decisive phase of the match.
