Devvarman keen to work on improving world ranking

After 1st round defeat in French Open, Devvarman keen to boost ranking to avoid qualifications hassles

After 1st round defeat in French Open, Devvarman keen to boost ranking to avoid qualifications hassles

Somdev Devvarman, bidding to become the first Indian man to reach the French Open second round in 13 years, lost a five-set marathon here yesterday.

Hard-fought: India's Somdev Devvarman returns to Switzerland's Marco Chiudinelli during their French Open first round match at the Roland Garros Stadium yesterday. Devvarman lost the 3-hour-38-minute tie 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6. Pics/AFP, Getty images

The 25-year-old from Assam was beaten by Switzerland's Marco Chiudinelli 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in a 3hr 38min first round contest played out in sweltering conditions.

The world 109, who reached the second round at the US Open last year, was bidding to follow in the footsteps of Leander Paes, the last Indian man to get beyond the first stage at Roland Garros in 1997.

Devvarman came through three rounds of qualifying in Paris and had been bolstered by knowing that he had defeated his Swiss opponent in their only other meeting in Dubai this year.

Despite his defeat, the Indian Davis Cup player will not be heading for the grasscourts straightaway, opting instead to take part in a claycourt Challenger in the Czech Republic. He believes that's the way to pick up the extra points he needs to boost his ranking which would go a long way towards cutting out the need to qualify at events.

"I'm only five or 10 spots off tournaments and I think I have a much better chance of getting the points clay rather than grass," he told AFP.

His caution is well-founded as he failed to win a match on grass last year and is already looking at having to qualify for Wimbledon next month. "I will have to do it the hard way, but I am determined to improve my world ranking and if I want to get there, I will have to improve on a few small things on the court."

Chiudinelli will face either American 17th seed John Isner or Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev for a place in the last 32.