Somdev downs Baghdatis,a match away from Nadal clash

Though Baghdatis didn’t serve to his potential,it was he who took the first break point to take a 3-2 lead in the first set. Unfortunately for the 19th seed,that remained the only break point he could win out of two more chances. But Somedv didn’t let that break of serve snowball any further,breaking back the Cypriot to make it 4-4.

Towards the end of the set,Baghdatis was struggling to return Somdev’s first serves as he broke him again to take the first set 7-5.

And it was indeed his service that he credited for his performance on Sunday at Indian Wells. “Marcos is a really good player and beating someone like him at such a big event feels great. Throughout the match my focus was on serving well and being aggressive whenever I saw the chance. I’m glad that my overall game worked today,” Somdev told The Indian Express.

The second set saw Somdev run all over the world number 22 player as Baghdatis failed to convert points on his serve. After going a break down,Baghdatis’s first serve percentage had gone down to 13 and his woes continued as he again netted a shot from the baseline to allow Somdev to take a 4-0 lead. Baghdatis couldn’t manage a single game on the board as Somdev rushed to complete his victory.

Though Somdev had played Baghdatis before,he had ended on the losing side when he met him in the pre-quarters at the Dubai Championships last year. The world number 84 said he had no special plans to avenge the defeat.

“No specific strategies,just go out there and play a good match,be consistent and make as many first serves as possible is what I told myself before the match,” Somdev added. For now,he is concentrating on his next game.