Somdev outplayed by Donskoy to mark end of Indian challenge

The Indian challenge at the USD 50,000 ATP Challenger Tour ended today after Russian third seed Evgeny Donskoy outplayed Somdev Devvarman to set up a final clash against a spirited Ilija Bozoljac of Serbia.

Barring the first set which the second seed Somdev won after breaking his opponent in the second game, it was the Russian all the way as he clinched the match 3-6 7-5 6-2.

The day, however, belonged to unseeded Bozoljac as the world-ranked 270 showed an astounding comeback after losing nine straight games to stun the top seed and world-ranked 93 Aleksandr Nedovyesov 0-6 7-5 6-3.

India found some solace in the doubles which was won by the wild card duo of Saketh Myneni and Sanam Singh who downed Vishnu Vardhan and Divij Sharan 6-3 3-6 10-4.

Having beaten the Russian in ATP world Tour Masters in Miami last year, Somdev started as the favourite in front of a boisterous crowd as he won the first set 6-3 with just a break of serve in the second game.

The second set witnessed a lot of service breaks by both the players.

Somdev, at 5-6 on serve faltered as he could not convert the crucial points in his favour to concede the second set 5-7 and take the match into the decider.

Slipping from bad to worse, Somdev committed a lot of unforced errors as the Russian broke in the fourth game before wrapping up the issue with another break in the eighth game.

"I really could hit well in the third set with good forehand and backhand... I felt really confident.

"I got breaks and then broken, I got two or three winners that gave me confidence into the third set," Donskoy who is recovering from a back injury after making a third round exit against Lleyton Hewitt in the US Open, said.

"After the US Open, I played in Russia where I had a back injury. But now I've started to play again," Donskoy said ahead of his final against Bozoljac.

The Serbian enthralled the crowd in the first match of the day as his grand recovery after losing the first set 0-6 and trailing 0-3 in the second.

"I was telling myself, this was 'unbelievable, imagine losing a match 0-6, 0-6' and the next thing I would see that my wife, my family and my coach had left...

"You can't believe what it is being in the courts. But my fitness coach (Petar Milcanovic) told me leave the first set aside and you can still win," the Serbian said.