Somdev Devvarman was off to a winning start at the $75,000 ATP Challenger tournament in Aptos, USA as he beat Japanese Yuichi Sugita in three-sets.
The second seed Indian overcame a first set deficit to beat his unseeded opponent 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 in the first round of the hard court event.
This was Somdev's second win over Sugita and leads the head-to-head tally 2-1. Last year the two players clashed twice with Somdev emerging winner in Washington DC and the Japanese in Tokyo.
Somdev, ranked 105, will next take on 226-ranked American Alex Bogomolov Jr, who beat wild card and compatriot Bradley Klahn 6-2 6-0 in his first round match.