Even as all eyes are on Sania Mirza at the Australian Open, twenty-one-year old Somdev Dev Varman is quietly, slowly and steadily making waves in the international tennis circuit.

Already a champion at collegiate level, the Chennai-born lad on Monday won the USA F1 Futures, in Florida, which incidentally, is his first International Tennis Federation (ITF) overseas title.

For Somdev, the win meant enduring eight rounds—includes three in the qualifiers— before toppling top seed Dusan Vemic (Serbia) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, “the best thing to happen when one talks of gaining confidence”, according to Somdev.

While the singles title was his second—having won a Futures event in Kolkata back in 2004—Somdev completed a maiden double crown in company of collegemate Treat Huey without dropping a set.

Having begun the year with a bang, Somdev, who plans to turn pro by May this year was quite modest about the win, “I need the points to begin well and more importantly do well in the next level—that is the Challengers.”

With limited opportunities as a university player, Somdev’s championship match win over 152-ranked Vemic only shows his capabilities despite being ranked as low as 1037.

With restrictions that include not accepting prize money while playing NCAA tennis, Somdev over the past eight months has proven his seriousness against top-notch players.

With two Top-200—Justin Gimelstob and Ricardo Mello—scalps apart, his all-time best win against No 99 ranked Robert Kendrick, Somdev feels he is still to get consistent.

With an eye on the future, Somdev talks of university matches that are coming up. Being a senior and with grades on mind, Somdev does not feel he’s missing out on points big time. “I have to understand that my first priority is graduation...that’s what I set out for. Tennis will come after that, it’s a mater of time.”

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