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DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPSFebruary 25, 2014Somdev DevvarmanDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES S. DEVVARMAN/J. Del Potro THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How does it feel? I know it would have been good to finish the match. SOMDEV DEVVARMAN: Yeah, I mean, obviously it's unfortunate, you know, especially for a guy like him. I think he's been playing really good tennis to be in the top 5, and, you know, I wish him nothing but the best and a good recovery. It's obviously sad, and, you know, I know he's a quality player and a class act, so I hope he recovers well for Indian Wells and Miami and has a good year ahead. Q. You were probably aware that he was having this problem before. Is it hard to play... SOMDEV DEVVARMAN: I actually... Q. You didn't know? SOMDEV DEVVARMAN: No, I had no clue. After starting the match, I realized that he wasn't very comfortable hitting backhands obviously, and I tried to make him hit as many as I could, and he wasn't really hitting over it, so I knew that he wasn't happy. You know, I think tough conditions out there, obviously, regardless of whether his wrist was okay or not. I felt like it was windy or wasn't that easy to play. I just tried to fight hard and tried my best to make things tough for him, make things easier for me. You know, I'm just happy, happy that I got through today. Q. You have been playing really well of late. You won the challenger last week. Talk about what's going on, how come it's all coming together. SOMDEV DEVVARMAN: I have no idea (smiling). I mean, I wish like I had a formula or recipe for you, but I haven't been doing anything different. I have just been working extremely hard. I have been doing that all my career, and sometimes things just click. I wish I had like an answer for you, but I don't know. I'm just going to go back and keep working hard, keep trying my best and then see how things go. I don't even know ‑‑I didn't even look at the draw. I have no clue who I'm playing next, actually. I will just take things one step at a time and do my best. Q. At what point did you figure the wrist, that he was not hitting his backhands? SOMDEV DEVVARMAN: Probably like 3‑All or so. At that point I felt like he was chipping a lot. I have seen him play a good amount of matches. He doesn't really chip a whole lot. Then towards the end of the set I felt he was flagging some long and missing some in the net. I felt like he was uncomfortable. That's why he went to the chip. You know, obviously the goal is to see how many times I can make him come over it when he's not happy to do it. Like I said, I don't feel like, at least right now, I don't feel like anything ‑‑I'm just happy to be through, but I don't feel like it was a quality top‑10 win or anything. It's unfortunate that the guy was injured. You know, even though I feel like I'm playing well, it would have been nice to play a match against a top‑5 guy and see how I did. Q. You played the set points really well. Can you remember them and talk through them? SOMDEV DEVVARMAN: Yeah, I hit an ace on the first one. I felt like he was leaning to his right. I hit an ace. Then came in on one, make him hit a backhand pass and I know he's not happy hitting backhands. Then I hit another good serve after that. Yeah, I felt like I played those points well. Funny thing is if I hadn't, we could still be out there, could be out there on court, he could be up a set and a break and I wouldn't be sitting here for sure. Yeah, I'm just happy that I ended up playing those points well and won the breaker. Q. Did you feel you had nothing to lose, or... SOMDEV DEVVARMAN: Yeah, definitely. Definitely had nothing to lose going out, playing against a guy like that. By no means am I ‑‑I mean, I didn't look at the odds, but I'm assuming they were heavily stacked against me. So, yeah, definitely nothing to lose and I felt like I was playing well. I just went out there and competed and played hard and did everything I could to win. Honestly lucky that it turned out that way. Q. (Question aboutcoming to the net.) SOMDEV DEVVARMAN: I mean, only if you get the right ball to come in. Like I feel like against quality guys you can't force your way in. It's got to be a natural shot, and you've got to hit a good shot to come in. Sometimes I had the right opportunity and I came in. It wasn't a strategy or anything. But when you have a chance against these guys, you've got to make them come up with the goods. Q. Does it feel like home ground here? SOMDEV DEVVARMAN:  Yeah, it's great. I think there was a few points there where we had a long exchange and I hit a good shot to end the point, and the crowd seemed like they were having a good time. So, yeah, it does feel like we have a lot of Indian support, which is nice. I hope they come out for the next one, too. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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