Somdev loses but takes heart at US Open

India's Somdev Devvarman's first Grand Slam campaign came to a end when he lost to 23rd seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany on
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Thursday but he said he will learn from the experience. ( Watch Video )

The 24-year-old from Chennai won three qualifying matches to make it into the main draw at the US Open and then won his first-round match against Frederico Gil of Portugal in straight sets.

But the experienced Kohlschreiber, who has taken some notable scalps this year including that of Novak Djokovic at the French Open, had too much experience and ability, winning 6-3, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.

Devvarman, who won back-to-back US collegiate titles playing for the University of Virginia in 2007 and 2008, said his time spent at Flushing Meadows had been "a great experience."

"Qualifying for the US Open was a great breakthrough for me and then to win a match and take a set off Philipp and have some chances against him will give me great confidence for the future," he said.

"I just have to take the right steps to get better and move up the rankings - work harder, get stronger, hit the ball harder and serve better."

Devvarman said he is also acutely aware that there is growing interest in tennis in India brought on by the recent successes of Sania Mirza in the women's game and in doubles play.

He said he drew early inspiration from the likes of doubles champions Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati as well as stars from an earlier era like Vijay Amritraj and Ramesh Krishnan.

"I have a great opportunity coming from such a great country with such a great tradition in sport and hopefully I can get better and give them something to cheer about," he said.

Devvarman's exploits at Flushing Meadows, coming after he left the collegiate system, have pushed him up to a world ranking of 162, which will improve when the next ATP rankings come out.

He notably reached the final of his hometown tournament in Chennai in January and then in early August reached the third round in Washington, where he lost to Ivo Karlovic.