Chennai: Wild cards Somdev-Sonam beat Voest-Lipsky

Indian wild card entrants Somdev Devvarman and Sonam Singh gave enough proof that they are in the mould of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi when it comes to doubles, as they won the first round main draw tie, beating the seasoned Russian-American duo of Rik De Voest and Scott Lipsky at the ATP Chennai Open on Monday night.

The young Indian pair had a strategy and also implemented their game plan well, forcing the more experienced pair to surrender 6-2, 7-5.

In the post-match press conference, Sonam concurred that they are not contemplating to replace anyone in playing for the country.

"Yes, today we clicked. There are no feelings of urgency in getting a call for playing for India. Som is already a Davis Cupper. Hopefully, we have done well and looking ahead for positive result match after match," Singh said.

The Indians having shown promise since they migrated to the US. Having undergone the grind at the same University perhaps helps them.

"Yes. The grind at the same university has helped us a lot. No doubt, I have improved a lot physically too after being understudy as a junior in the same college where Som belonged. The 30 months that I had spent in the University was of great help to me," he said.