Playing his first match after suffering a shoulder strain during India's Davis Cup tie against Japan, Somdev battled past the Russian rival 7-6 (5) 6-4 after one hour and 39 minutes in the opening round.
The 89th ranked Somdev faced stiff resistance from his 309th ranked opponent as the Russian managed to save as many as four breakpoints in the opening set.
The trade of breaks in the first set stretched the issue to tie-breaker but Somdev capitalised on the first available opportunity in the second set to clinch the match.
He next faces world number 60 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.
The two players have faced each other twice this season with Somdev winning at Indian Wells Masters and Baghdatis at Washington event.
Overall, Baghdatis leads the head-to-head chart 2-1.
(Published 27 September 2011, 09:51 IST)
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