Somdev shocks world No 26 Garcia-Lopez

Somdev Devvarman pulled off one of the biggest wins of his career, upsetting world No 26 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round of the Serbia Open, in Belgrade, on Thursday.

The Indian ace, who broke into the top-100 early this year, scored a thrilling 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-6(8) win over the Spaniard and sealed a place in the quarter-finals of the clay-court event.

It was Somdev's first win over a top-30 player this year and should further enhance his reputation as a new force on the ATP circuit.

The intense battle between Somdev, ranked 71, and Guillermo lasted three hours and 13 minutes.

It was Somdev's second meeting against Guillermo this year, having lost to him at Houston earlier.

He had defeated Ivo Karlovic, then world No 25, in the 2009 Chennai Open.

Recently, he played his heart out against world No 1 Rafael Nadal and world No 6 David Ferrer before losing.

It was Somdev, who put his nose ahead by winning the first set via the tie-breaker. He saved eight break-points and converted one of the two break chances to stretch the opening set to a tie-breaker.

But the Spaniard drew on all his experience to take second set. Guillermo broke through Somdev's defences, grabbing all three break chances to have the match on level terms.

Somdev got an early break in the decisive third set to go ahead 2-1 but dropped serve in the fourth game to let go the advantage.

However, the Indian got his second break in the seventh game and then held his own to make it 4-4.

The score was soon 6-6, and eventually Somdev settled the issue in the tie-breaker.