Somdev, Ramkumar opt out of Delhi Open

Somdev Devvarman will not defend his Delhi Open title this year as he has decided to give a miss to the USD 100,000 ATP Challenger event, starting February 15, owing to, in his words, tougher scheduling. Ramkumar has received a wildcard for Open 13, an ATP 250 event in France, in the same week.

Somdev Devvarman with the Delhi Open ATP Challenger Trophy in February last year.

Somdev Devvarman will not defend his Delhi Open title this year as he has decided to give a miss to the USD 100,000 ATP Challenger event, starting February 15. Not only Somdev, but the promising Ramkumar Ramanathan will also skip the tournament.

“I am not playing Delhi Open this year,” Somdev told PTI . Asked for the reason, Somdev said,” There is no specific reason. Just scheduling was tougher.”

Long winning streak

Somdev has not lost a match at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) courts since the 2010 Commonwealth Games and playing at the venue could have given him a psychological boost since he is going through a rough patch. His ranking has plummeted to 186. Ramkumar will not play since he has got a wild card for the ATP 250 event in Marseille, France in the same week.

The highest-ranked player in the tournament would be Yuki Bhambri (100) while other Indians in the singles main draw are Saketh Myneni (175) and Sanam Singh (277). N. Sriram Balaji had earned a wild card entry by winning the national championship last year. Vishnu Vardhan, being the finalist in that final, had got a wild card for qualifying.

The DLTA is yet to announce the other wild cards for the main draw.