Somdev beats Donskoy to reach Delhi Open final

Somdev Devvarman fought past Evgeny Donskoy in straight sets to breeze into the final of the ONGC-GAIL Delhi Open on Saturday. Somdev defeated the Russian fourth seed 6-4, 6-2 in the USD 100,000 ATP Challenger tournament at RK Khanna Tennis Stadium. Somdev played a solid game as he rallied to come back after Donskoy had rushed a 3-0 lead in the opening set. His nerves settled after first hold, Somdev started to play much better. [caption id=“attachment_1404081” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Employing his usual strategy, Somdev kept the ball in play and from the very first point of the match, long rallies came into play. Reuters[/caption] Employing his usual strategy, Somdev kept the ball in play and from the very first point of the match, long rallies came into play. Both Somdev and Donskoy were solid from the baseline, ripping backhands and forehands. The second set started with exchange of breaks and the as the game progressed Donskoy’s errors had him in deep trouble. Two backhand errors cost him the fifth game and his challenge fell flat when Somdev hit a volley winner for a 5-2 lead. The Indian saved two break points before clinching the issue in the next game. PTI