Marin Cilic of Croatia ended Indian wildcard Somdev Devvarman’s dream run on home soil to win the ATP Chennai Open crown on Sunday.
The lanky world No. 27 beat the 202nd-ranked Devvarman 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) in a morale-boosting victory ahead of the season’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, starting in Melbourne on Monday.
Cilic, 20, earned US$73,000 and 250 ATP points for his second career title after winning the New Haven final last August.
Devvarman, denied a chance to become the first Indian in more than a decade to win an ATP event, took home US$37,000 and 150 points for reaching the final in only his fifth career tournament.
“It is great to start the year with a win,” Cilic said. “I worked very hard during the off-season and it paid off for me this week.”
“I will certainly feel confident going into the Australian Open,” he said. “I don’t think I played my best tennis in the final, but did well in the crucial points which helped me to win.”
Cilic heaped praise on his unheralded 23-year-old rival, saying Devvarman had a bright future.
“Somdev is obviously a very good potential,” he said. “He has a pretty good forehand and is an aggressive player, so I knew I had to be as aggressive and keep him on the backhand as far as possible.”
Some 6,000 home fans at the jam-packed Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium cheered Devvarman’s bold effort to emulate his Davis Cup captain Leander Paes, whose win in Newport, Rhode Island, in July, 1998 was the last title triumph by an Indian.
The US-based Devvarman, born in the north-eastern state of Assam, had beaten Spanish veteran Carlos Moya in the second round and world No. 25 Ivo Karlovic in the quarter-final.
He qualified for the final after fifth-seeded Rainer Schuettler of Germany withdrew from the semi-finals with a wrist injury.
“This match was definitely a learning experience for me,” the Indian said.
“It does not feel good to come out of a loss, but I will go from here knowing I can compete with the best. There is a lot in my game I need to improve,” he said.
Cilic survived six break points in the first seven games and held on to win the first set in 52 minutes when Devvarman, down 4-5, double-faulted at 30-40 in the 10th game.
The big-serving Croat could have wrapped up the match earlier than it’s two-hour duration, but he was broken by Devvarman while serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set.
Cilic held his nerve in the tie-breaker before winning the final with a forehand winner down the line.
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
HSIEH ADVANCES: In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei was to play in the second round last night, but Taiwan’s Ray Ho exited in the men’s doubles It is more than 10 years since Grigor Dimitrov reached his sole Wimbledon semi-final and back then it still seemed a reasonable bet that the Bulgarian once dubbed “Baby Federer” would win a Grand Slam title. There were semi-final runs at the US Open and Australian Open after that, but it has never quite happened and despite him still being ranked No. 21, it most likely never will. Dimitrov, 34, remains one of the most stylish players on the circuit though, with his elegant single-handed backhand and smooth all-court game a rare reminder of how tennis was before the power merchants turned
TAIWANESE WIN: Chan Hao-ching and Wu Fang-hsien and their partners won their first-round matches in the women’s doubles at the All England Lawn Tennis Club Late-night finishes and five-set matches are becoming a habit for Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon this year. On Wednesday, he wrapped up his win over Gabriel Diallo before the match was suspended — making sure the fifth-seeded American would not have to come back on court for a fourth straight day. Fritz overcame a bloodied elbow to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/0), 4-6, 6-3 on No. 1 Court a day after he finished off another five-set win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a match that was halted on Monday at about 10:15pm after Fritz forced a fifth set with Wimbledon’s 11pm curfew looming. He
Real Madrid’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund had taken three crazy turns during nine minutes of second-half stoppage time when Marcel Sabitzer chested the ball and sent a right-footed volley toward Thibaut Courtois’ post. Courtois leapt to his right, extended the long arm on his 2m frame and just managed to get his gloved fingertips on the ball, knocking it down. Courtois hit the ground as the ball bounded up. He looked skyward, planted his right hand to regain his balance, grabbed the ball with both hands on the second bounce and fell onto it with his chest. Sabitzer turned