The beneficiary of Rainer Schuettler’s suddenly injured left wrist, Somdev didn’t have to do much on Saturday after his semi-final opponent’s withdrawal, but he did turn up on court to have a few words with his supporters, attempting to deal with the disappointment of not watching their boy play his semi-final.

The trickle of tennis followers began a little before the first match of the day between third seed Marin Cilic and eighth seed Marcel Granollers, but for those watching, that one was simply an order of business to be dealt with before the primetime show — Somdev Devvarman v Rainer Schuettler. Unfortunately, as the sunlight dimmed and the lights came on, anticipating the real thing, the entire evening took on a rather anti-climactic air as news of the German’s withdrawal made its way around.

“During yesterday’s doubles match, I started feeling pain in my left wrist. As I warmed up for the semi-final, I wasn’t able to hit a double-handed backhand. I felt a strong pain. I would only be able to slice and I’m also afraid the injury may get worse. I had the same a few years ago but it wasn’t as bad as now.

“I will also have to pull out of Sydney and I will now fly to Melbourne and see if I can be ready in time for the Australian Open. I feel sorry for the crowd and the tournament. It is a very disappointing moment for me,” Schuettler said in an official statement.

Holding it together

This year’s Chennai Open has seen two high-profile withdrawals — top seed Nikolay Davydenko and now fifth seed Schuettler — and has also witnessed other big draws being subjected to unceremonial exits — second seed Stanislas Wawrinka lost to an unknown qualifier in his first-round match — and though each such incident means India’s biggest tennis event loses a bit of its sheen, the performance of wild card Somdev continues to hold it all together.

“I never want to take credit for a walkover. I was excited about today, and I was looking forward to playing Schuettler. Both of us play from the baseline, and I was thinking of maybe being a bit more aggressive. I was very confident from yesterday’s win and I would’ve preferred to sweat it out rather than making the final this way, but it’s not in my control. That being said, I’ll take it. I’m going to focus on the match tomorrow, and forget about how I got there,” said Somdev, reacting to Schuettler’s withdrawal. “Things have gone my way here this week, but I am confident of doing well.”

Fiendish forehand

The dream goes on, but for it to end on a happy note, Somdev will have to find some way to tackle Cilic and his fiendish forehand. In his match against Marcel Granollers on Saturday, the 20-year-old employed his most outstanding weapon to the best of his ability, and even after a slight stutter in the second set, came through to better last year’s semi-final appearance in Chennai. He won this match 6-4, 6-3, but feels it will be more than just Somdev’s tennis skills he will have to be wary of on Sunday.

“Today I played my best match so far this week, and I’m feeling good. I was hitting the ball well right from the beginning. For the final, Somdev is playing the best tennis of his career so far, and it will be tough for me because the crowd will be on his side as well. it’s a big occasion for him — his first final, home support,” said Cilic. “But I hope I will be able serve as good as I did today, and of course, I will have to stay calm.”

The doubles final pits a Swiss pair against an American one. Jean-Claude Scherrer and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland defeated the US duo of Scott Lipsky and David Martin 6-4, 6-4 to take their place in the final, and Americans Eric Butorac and Rajeev Ram benefitted from Schuettler’s withdrawal as well. They were scheduled to play the German and his partner Bjorn Phau on Saturday.

Final: live on ten sports from 5 pm