<p>Playing his first match after suffering a shoulder strain during India's Davis Cup tie against Japan, Somdev battled past the Russian rival 7-6 (5) 6-4 after one hour and 39 minutes in the opening round.<br /><br />The 89th ranked Somdev faced stiff resistance from his 309th ranked opponent as the Russian managed to save as many as four breakpoints in the opening set.<br /><br />The trade of breaks in the first set stretched the issue to tie-breaker but Somdev capitalised on the first available opportunity in the second set to clinch the match.<br /><br />He next faces world number 60 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.<br /><br />The two players have faced each other twice this season with Somdev winning at Indian Wells Masters and Baghdatis at Washington event.<br /><br />Overall, Baghdatis leads the head-to-head chart 2-1.</p>
<p>Playing his first match after suffering a shoulder strain during India's Davis Cup tie against Japan, Somdev battled past the Russian rival 7-6 (5) 6-4 after one hour and 39 minutes in the opening round.<br /><br />The 89th ranked Somdev faced stiff resistance from his 309th ranked opponent as the Russian managed to save as many as four breakpoints in the opening set.<br /><br />The trade of breaks in the first set stretched the issue to tie-breaker but Somdev capitalised on the first available opportunity in the second set to clinch the match.<br /><br />He next faces world number 60 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.<br /><br />The two players have faced each other twice this season with Somdev winning at Indian Wells Masters and Baghdatis at Washington event.<br /><br />Overall, Baghdatis leads the head-to-head chart 2-1.</p>