<p>The unseeded Indian, ranked 85, lost 4-6 3-6 to his seventh seed opponent in the singles event of the USD 1,214,50 hard court tournament.<br /><br />Statistically it has been a successful year for Somdev as he touched a career-high rank of 62 this season but lost in the first rounds of several ATP tournaments.<br /><br />Reaching the final of the Johannesburg event and the pre-quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Masters remain the highlight of his season.<br /><br />Somdev did create chances today against Stepanek, who also figured in top-10 at one time in his career, but the Indian could not convert much of the break points he earned.<br />In all, he managed to get seven chances but converted only two and dropped his serve twice in each of the two sets.<br /><br />The Indian challenge is still alive in the ATP 500 event with Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi competing in the doubles.<br /><br />The Indo-Pak pair has been given the top billing and they open their campaign against Brazilian pair of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares.</p>
<p>The unseeded Indian, ranked 85, lost 4-6 3-6 to his seventh seed opponent in the singles event of the USD 1,214,50 hard court tournament.<br /><br />Statistically it has been a successful year for Somdev as he touched a career-high rank of 62 this season but lost in the first rounds of several ATP tournaments.<br /><br />Reaching the final of the Johannesburg event and the pre-quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Masters remain the highlight of his season.<br /><br />Somdev did create chances today against Stepanek, who also figured in top-10 at one time in his career, but the Indian could not convert much of the break points he earned.<br />In all, he managed to get seven chances but converted only two and dropped his serve twice in each of the two sets.<br /><br />The Indian challenge is still alive in the ATP 500 event with Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi competing in the doubles.<br /><br />The Indo-Pak pair has been given the top billing and they open their campaign against Brazilian pair of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares.</p>