Devvarman Defeats Former World No. 1 Carlos Moya

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CHENNAI, India Former Cavalier tennis player Somdev Devvarman defeated former world No. 1 Carlos Moya 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Chennai Open. Moya, currently ranked No. 42 in the world, is the highest ranked player Devvarman has defeated in his career.

With the victory, Devvarman advances to the quarterfinals of his hometown event. He will play No. 4 seed Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, ranked No. 26 in the world, on Friday. It is the second time in Devvarman’s career he has reached the quarterfinals on the ATP Tour (2008 Legg Mason Classic in Washington, D.C.) as he is the first Indian to reach the quarterfinals in Chennai in over a decade. He received a wild card into the event this year.

Against Moya, who won the Chennai Open in both 2004 and 2005, Devvarman rallied from losing the first set to win a three-set thriller that lasted two hours and 14 minutes. In the first round of the tournament on Tuesday, he defeated No. 114 Kevin Kim 6-3, 6-3.

Devvarman is currently ranked No. 202 in the world and with his performance in Chennai, will move into the top 200 for the first time in his career. Next week he will head to Melbourne, Australia for the 2009 Australian Open Qualifying Draw.