Somdev takes away several positives from the Chennai Open

Somdev takes away several positives from the Chennai Open

It was a bitter blow for thousands of Somdev Devvarman fans who had hoped to see the Chennai Open wildcard lift the trophy and end the home contingent's drought at India's premier tennis tournament.

Somdev said he has a lot to take from his loss to third seed Marin Cilic in the final. And his performance over the past week has given Indian tennis big hope for the future.

"Obviously it's disappointing to lose out on the title. I naturally would have liked to win it but just like I am a little negative after my wins, there's a lot of positives from a loss.

Incredible experience
"Playing at home and doing so well has been an incredible experience. Hopefully, this run will inspire many youngsters to take up racquets and boost the sport in the country."

Cilic himself admitted Somdev has shown a lot in the past week to take heart from. "He definitely has the potential to make it as a top player. He is aggressive and has the ability to run around the court. He just has to fine-tune some things before he can really fulfill his potential," the champion said.

Breaking the barrier
It was not only Cilic, but two-time Chennai Open champion, Carlos Moya also said Somdev could break into the top 100 in the near future.

With his final appearance, Somdev earned $37,000 but more importantly won 150 ranking points. That takes him from his current ranking of 202 to somewhere around 160 in the ATP charts. That's less than 100 ranks behind India's best ever ranking u2013 Leander Paes reached 73 in 2008.

For Somdev, however, not much changes. He is still tentative about his schedule but hopes to play more ATP tournaments this year. "The only thing I can confirm currently is that I'll be playing the Australian Open qualifiers next week," he said.

Doubles final: Eric Butorac/Rajeev Ram (USA) beat Jean-Claude Scherrer/Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 6-3, 6-4