Wild card entrant Somdev Dev Varman outdid higher-ranked compatriots Prakash Amritraj and Karan Rastogi to emerge the sole Indian to qualify for the US $ 600,000 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington DC on Monday.
Dev Varman, who won the NCAA men's singles title in May while playing for University of Virginia, beat 271-ranked second seed Andre Sa of Brazil 6-2, 6-1 in the qualifying round to make it to an ATP main rounds for the second time in his career.
The 22-year-old, ranked outside 1000 currently, was given a wild card in the main draw in 2006.
Sixteen players compete for the four qualifying berths in Washington as opposed to a draw of 32 at most ATP tournaments.
South Africa's Wesley Whitehouse edged out the in-form Amritraj 7-6 (1), 7-5 in the second round while Rastogi, seeded sixth in the qualifiers, lost 6-2, 6-1 to USA's Nathan Thompson in the first.
Assam lad Dev Varman, who took up a tennis scholarship in the US, will play American Paul Goldstein in the first round on Tuesday evening.