Chennai: Somdev Devvarman joined compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan in the singles main draw of the ATP Chennai Open with a come-from-behind victory over Briton James Ward in the final qualifying round.
Somdev, who struggled on the ATP tour in 2015, defeated Ward 2-6 7-5 6-4 in a two hours and three-minute battle.
Ranked 177th, Somdev made a brilliant comeback in the match after losing the first set, gathering strength and changing the tactics.
Both were neck-and-neck in the second set before Somdev capitalised on a break of serve and never looked back. He raced to a 4-1 lead in the deciding third set and closed the match in his favour comfortably.
Another Indian Saketh Myneni was ousted from the qualifying event , losing his second round match 4-6 2-6 to fifth seed Thomas Fabbiano.
India’s best hopes are in doubles with experienced Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and Mahesh Bhupathi, who is returning to Tour after a break, in the mix.
Bhupathi partnering Gilles Muller (Lux) will meet top seeds Raven Klaasen (RSA) and Rajeev Ram (USA), while second seeds Paes and Marcel Granollers of Spain would be tested by former Olympic gold medallist Stanislas Wawrinka (Sui) and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.