Chennai, Jan 10 : Somdev Devvarman became the first Indian player to make it to the final of Chennai Open when his fifth seeded German opponent Rainer Scheuttler withdrew from the semifinal encounter due to a wrist injury here today.
India's doubles ace Leander Paes had reached the semifinals of Chennai Open in 1998.
Somdev is the only second Indian player in recent times to make the final of an ATP Tour event.
Prakash Amritraj had reached the final of Hall of Fame Tennis championship in Newport, United States, in July last year.
Somdev made full use of his wild card, upsetting players like Croatia's world number 25 Ivo Karlovic and former world number one Carlos Moya en route to the semifinal. - Agencies
Jan 10, 2009