New Delhi: India's top singles tennis player Somdev Devvarman has been handed a direct entry to the main draw of the ATP Chennai Open ten nis tournament after Estonia's Jurgen Zopp pulled with a back injury.
World No. 90 Somdev was to play the qualifying rounds but Zopp's withdrawal ensured that the Indian will get a berth in the main round. He will spearhead India's challenge at the $450,000 tournament, to be held here from December 30 to January 5.
The tournament will witness top stars like world no. eight Stanislas Wawrinka, world number 15 Mikhail Youzhny, No. 16 Fabio Fognini and defending singles champion Janko Tipsarevic.
Other leading players at the event are France's Benoit Paire, Canada's Vasek Pospisil, Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Roberto Bautista-Agut, and Frenchman Edouard Roger Vesselin. The 2014 edition marks only the second time in the history of the tourna ment when three returning singles champions forms part of the playing field.
This year, 28-year-old Somdev broke into the top 100 after an impressive run.
In the space of 10 months, he climbed more than 550 spots to be at No. 90.
