Somdev ousts Karlovic,storms into semis

Continuing his giant killing act,India’s Somdev Devvarman upped his game by several notches to beat fourth seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 7-6(4) 6-4 and storm into the semifinals of the Chennai Open ATP Tour tennis tournament here.

Playing before a packed stadium and the home crowd rooting for him,Somdev,who on Thursday scalped former world no.1 and two-time champion here Carlos Moya,played his heart out to win the quarterfinal match in 86 minutes.

In the process,he became the only second Indian after Leander Paes to figure in the semifinals of the 14-year old prestigious event.

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In the semifinals,Devvarman will meet Germany’s fifth seeded Rainer Schuettler,who stayed on course with a 6-2 7-5 win in 98 minutes over his compatriot Bjorn Phau earlier in the day.

In the other semifinal tomorrow,third seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia plays eighth seed Marcel Granollers of Spain.