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Somdev Devvarman of India will play against Frederico Gil of Portugal in the first round of US Open main draw. This will be his first Grand Slam singles event. Somdev made it to the main draw defeating Poland's Jerzy Janowicz by 6-3, 6-2 in the qualifiers at Flushing Meadows.
Somdev was three points from winning Friday's rain-interrupted third round qualifier, having led 6-3, 5-2, 15-15.He was quickly home when the match resumed on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Somdev now plays 110th ranked Frederico Gil of Portugal in the first round of the US Open, commencing on Monday.
Gil has already played in Grand Slam events. He participated in French Open, Wimbledon and US open last year and also this year at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. But the Portuguese has never won the first round till date.
Somdev narrowly failed to qualify for the Australian Open. He also could not make it to the French Open and Wimbledon main draws this year. He became the first Indian to qualify for the US Open since Los Angeles-born Indian Prakash Amritraj played in 2002.
Somdev will meet Gil for the first time. The first round win will make the Indian face World No. 23 Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber.The German will play against Andreas Seppi of Italy in the opener. Kohlschreiber, who has been in great form this season, defeated World No. 4 Novak Djokovic in the French Open draw. Later in Wimbledon, the German took a set off Roger Federer in the third round.
Somdev has also made a sensational start to his pro career with his entry in the final at the Chennai Open in January. On the US hardcourt circuit, he entered third round at Legg Mason Classic in Washington and also qualified for the LA Open. Somdev's maiden stint in Grand Slam was in Wimbledon this year where he made it to the main draw with South African partner Kevin Anderson. The duo lost to Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in the first round.
Somdev started the game on a solid note, winning the first set and gaining the decisive break of serve in a little over half an hour. He dominated the match with two early breaks in the second set and just when the game was interrupted by storm. He completed the formality late on Saturday night.
Sania Mirza is the only other Indian player in the singles .She will challenge Olga Govortsova of Belarus in the first round.
