Indian campaign ended after wild-card entrants Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh lost a close semi-final clash to Janko Tipsarevic and Yen Hsun Lu.

By Bhagya L Ayyavoo

Behind every wild card, there’s a fairy tale. Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh came very close to proving that on Saturday. The duo fell short by just a few points. The young Indian pair went down to Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic and Yen-Hsun Lu of the Chinese Taipei 6-3, 4-6, 10-5 in the semifinal of the Aircel Chennai Open.

Somdev and Sanam had upset fourth seeds Rik de Voest of South Africa and American Scott Lipsky, followed it up by beating Jeff Coetzee of South Africa and Rogier Wassen of The Netherlands in the quarters. But Tipsarevic and Lu prevailed in the close encounter.

“It was really a close match. There were a lot of service breaks. Every player on the court was returning better than holding the serves,” Tipsarevic said in a post-match press conference. 

"We discussed before the match that even though they were wild cards, they weren't meant to be taken lightly, having upset two good teams earlier," explained Tipsarevic, adding, “We were a bit more experienced than them. We were trying to just not play it safe but keep the ball in play and stay aggressive at the same it.” 

The wild-card entrants, who missed their maiden final in Chennai, were visibly disappointed. Sanam said, “We’ll be alright in the morning. But right now we’re a little disappointed. I have a lot more confidence after playing with Somdev. I learnt a lot.” 

“It is a little disappointing but, it’s good to see that we can get to the semis. If we had taken those half chances, we could have got to the final,” pointed out Somdev. 

He added that the doubles run has had a positive influence on his singles approach, “I have a lot more confidence in my abilities. It is definitely helping my singles for sure in serving and returning, stepping in and being a little more aggressive.”

Tipsarevic and Lu will take on the second-seeded Spanish team of Marcel Granollers and Santiago Ventura on Sunday in their first ATP World Tour final. The Spanish duo nudged ahead of the British combine of Colin Fleming and Ken Skupsi 3-6, 6-3, 10-8.