Somdev Devvarman???

[Aeropro master]

Do you guys think that Somdev Devvarman could go pro and be successful, he beat isner last year and is currently ranked #1 in college tennis.

[caesar66]

He's very consistent but has no real weapons. I don't see him being terribly successful. Isner's game has raised a bit since college.

[babolatking]

Who knows? I think he could. he did beat Isner and I think its good that he is going to finish college tennis. I think it will happen in the long run. My question is why has he not gotten any wc's into the us open/aus open.

[maverick66]

Who knows? I think he could. he did beat Isner and I think its good that he is going to finish college tennis. I think it will happen in the long run. My question is why has he not gotten any wc's into the us open/aus open.

why would he? hes not from either country and ncaa titles means nothing to the pros.

[CAM178]

why would he? hes not from either country and ncaa titles means nothing to the pros.
Yeah, but winning NCAA's gets you an automatic WC into the USO. If I remember correctly, either he was injured at the time of the USO, or he said that he didn't want to play in it.

[Fee]

The USTA stopped giving the NCAA wildcard 2 or 3 years ago. Maybe four actually.

Sommdev is playing a Futures this week in Florida, see how he does there.

[jeebeesus]

how would players like somdev and rajeev ram of indian origins measure against those of rastogi and boppana ?

[CAM178]

The USTA stopped giving the NCAA wildcard 2 or 3 years ago. Maybe four actually.
Sommdev is playing a Futures this week in Florida, see how he does there.
Yet another cool thing I've learned on this site, as I didn't know that. I can understand why they stopped giving WC's. Hope Somdev does well. If he wins, looks like he might face Lapentti, which won't be so easy.

[sureshs]

Yeah, but winning NCAA's gets you an automatic WC into the USO. If I remember correctly, either he was injured at the time of the USO, or he said that he didn't want to play in it.

If I remember right, he is not a US citizen. WCs are given to US citizens as first priority.

[sureshs]

how would players like somdev and rajeev ram of indian origins measure against those of rastogi and boppana ?

I think Bopanna is higher ranked.

[maverick66]

If I remember right, he is not a US citizen. WCs are given to US citizens as first priority.

that and we have deals with other countries that hold majors for wc's. so if your country doesnt hold a major tough luck for you.

[IanRichardson]

he really has no real weapons as other posters have said. His serve lacks pace which is a huge disadvantage for pro tennis. His groundstrokes are nothing special. He did beat isner, but it was literally a few points difference, anyone who watched the match knows it could have went either way. The reason isner has found success is obviously his huge serve, his weapon. If Devvarman had a weapon like that perhaps he would make it, but unless he undergoes great improvement, i doubt we will see much from him.

[Leublu tennis]

What a great name. Just rolls off the tongue.

[SoBad]

What a great name. Just rolls off the tongue.

Are you being sarcastic? I don't think it's that bad, and friends call him Som.

[JackSkellington]

He's definitely better than Isner but I think he'll burnout

[Vermillion]

He's definitely better than Isner but I think he'll burnout

what is this word, Burnout? why do so many people throw it around?

[ananda]

What a great name. Just rolls off the tongue.
yes, especially when you put "dev" 2 times in the name ;-)

He was supposed to come to india to play an ATP recently, but cancelled. Injury, iirc.

[jorel]

He also beat Justin Gimblestob(dont know how much that says) in an exhibition charity event with the winner getting quite a bit of change ( i was told the largest payoff in exhibition play anyway)

[equinox]

Could do top400, but will struggle to make more impact than top250.

[Jonny S&V]

Are you being sarcastic? I don't think it's that bad, and friends call him Som.

I doubt he is using sarcasm, it is a name that sort've rolls off the tongue. Like all the previous posters who have seen him play, he is merely consistent to a tee and doesn't have a big weapon.

[ivo#1fan]

He also beat Justin Gimblestob(dont know how much that says) in an exhibition charity event with the winner getting quite a bit of change ( i was told the largest payoff in exhibition play anyway)

Can he do that and still be eligible for college tennis?

[jorel]

Can he do that and still be eligible for college tennis?

dont know... it was for charity. breast cancer research

[jmverdugo]

Indeed he doesnt have any big weapons stroke -wise, however, he is fast, he could easily play a Davydenko kind of style, that will definitely take him to a high level and who knows, maybe in the way he developed some guns to complement his game.

[Topaz]

I had the pleasure of meeting Somdev a few weeks ago at my club in VA. Him and his NCAA doubles partner, Treat Huey, came to a social and did some exhibition matches. In speaking with Treat's dad, he said that Somdev first plans to finish school, then also has plans to play for the Indian Davis Cup team (as he is Indian).

Even though he won NCAA singles, he was not given a wild card because he is not American, as someone else already pointed out.

[IanRichardson]

Indeed he doesnt have any big weapons stroke -wise, however, he is fast, he could easily play a Davydenko kind of style, that will definitely take him to a high level and who knows, maybe in the way he developed some guns to complement his game.

i have to disagree here, as i think most of davydenko's sucesss comes from his ground strokes. Somdev just doesnt have that.

[!Tym]

Indeed he doesnt have any big weapons stroke -wise, however, he is fast, he could easily play a Davydenko kind of style, that will definitely take him to a high level and who knows, maybe in the way he developed some guns to complement his game.

Alex Kim was on the U.S. national junior team just barely, but at the time he was clearly the lowest on the rung; yet the more highly touted teammate Rodolfo Rake did absolutely nothing (though I think injuries had something to do with that) and if you look at his eventual accomplishments, including beating Kafelnikov on his best surface (the rebound ace of Australia); he did amazingly alright from himself. I certainly would have never expected him to go as far as he did. All things considered, he did about as well as you can expect from most college players...the very best of whom are lucky to top out in the 75-150 range, which is I think what he ended up accomplishing.

He was a smart player, quick guy, very undersized, and with no major weapons; yet it seemed like he kind of just got A LOT better overnight in college which suddenly gave him a glimmer of pro prospects which I don't think were really there when he first started college. He said the key was that he devoloped a much bigger forehand than what he had in college.

So for him, college really helped him achieve significantly more than a lot of people would have thought possible prior.

Some guys college really helps, like Todd Martin, who came out a MUCH improved player as a result. The lower-pressure evironment he said allowed him to really work on developing his game to take advantage of his height. Prior to college, he wasn't very highly touted at all as having pro prospects. The reason though was mainly that he was a strict baseliner at the time (and when you look at his underwhelming footspeed, you'd see why he wasn't going anywhere with that as his go-to plan out there). In college, he specifically worked on trying to become more of a serve and volleyer, and it obviously paid HUGE dividends for him, pardon the pun.

Guys who I think were helped by college big-time? Paul Goldstein, the Bryan Brothers, and Alex Kim (heck maybe it's just something about Dick Gould and his coaching methods?), coincidentally or not coincidentally all teammates. Guys who I think were significantly ******** by college tennis (again pardon the pun)? Andrew Park and Phillip King who basically curses having ever gone to college. Both these guys were far and away better juniors than Alex Kim, and all were undersized, fast, heady guys out there.

Andrew Park I remember Stan Smith saying he was "the class of the field" in the boys 18s, but nothing became of him at all...yet look what happened to Roddick and Bogomolov who weren't as clear cut the best in the 16's when Park was in the 18s. Both of those guys ended up way better, Bogomolov may be not anywhere near the success of Roddick; yet what I think the general public doesn't always realize, to reach the 100-250 ish level like Bogomolov is actually about the top percentile of what you can expect from top college and juniors players to achieve. Park went onto only so-so success in college tennis, and didn't even bother turning pro.

It's like scoring in the 90th percentile on those grade school standardized tests vs. in the 97-100 percentile for the top fifty guys and up.

Man, as for me, if you were to invest so much in tennis and not even try to go pro all out? I would be like thinking man, what a waste of time and my life. What was the point to show up at all?

I remember Kevin Kim saying everytime he thought about quiting, he'd call some of his friends in normal jobs at home and they'd all be saying, noooo...don't quit!

Hmm, day job or at least make it to the top 100/top 200 in THE ENTIRE WORLD at something, ANYTHING, at some point in your life? Tough decision, but for me no decision at all.

It's like what Feliciano Lopez said about quiting school at 17. It was "for sure" a tough decision, because "whatchyou gonna do if you don't make it?" Now "you've lost a few years." And a lot of people want to make it, but realistically most won't. Then again, if you're not one hundred and ten percent committed to the goal and willing to jump off a cliff, then one thing's for sure; you'll NEVER make it. Up to you. Personally, if I were a college junior I'd probably just go ahead and finish the degree to get the whole "I've got a backup now" mentality out of the way, as if you find yourself worried about that (as anyone would and should), it'll end up being a distraction if you struggle right off the bat once on tour.

However, if I were a sophomore and still unsure if this is holding me back or not, I'd ditch it as Kevin Kim did. I think it's easier to justify an extra year for the "backup" vs. an extra two or three years. What I'm thinking is that probably the best route for most college players thinking of going pro is, spend one to two years MAX in college to work on developing a solid foundation for the pro game in your game in a less pressured environment, get a little "your age just like everyone else" life college/frat boy panty raid experience, then that's it, enough is enough at some point you gotta set sail and throw yourselves to the wolves to be ravaged if you really want to sink or swim which is what it takes at the pro level.

That to me is the best of both worlds in most cases. And then also, going back to college later in life won't be nearly as daunting if you've already got a year or two under your belt.

[jmverdugo]

Well, the way i see it, USA tennis player have a great opportunity on the college / university league. In other countries (maybe most of them) there is no college league. If you want to go to the University pretty much you cant do anything else, you dont get any bonus from doing sports. If you want to go as a professional tennis player (or any other sport) you have to commit yourself 110% and must have the money to back that choice.

With the college leagues you can get your degree and play tennis and after that if you want you can try as a tennis pro but you still have your degree as a backup.

[Aeropro master]

i hope he isn't forced to be an engineer or doctor like most indians, and instead at least tries to play some more futures.

[JackSkellington]

what is this word, Burnout? why do so many people throw it around?

Do you watch/play college tennis? If he was to be on the tour for the entire year with his style of play, he will definitely burn out. Secondly, the tour is more difficult than just playing matches. I've had friends play on the tour for a few months and quit tennis completely simply because of exhaustion and the toll it takes on you, mentally.

[Leublu tennis]

i hope he isn't forced to be an engineer or doctor like most indians, and instead at least tries to play some more futures.
Forced to be an engineer or doctor? Thats being unhappy but being a 3d rate tennis player is happy?? Please.

[CAM178]

what is this word, Burnout? why do so many people throw it around?
If you're being serious, burnout is when you've had too much of something, and you get sick of it. It's pretty typical with college tennis players. I know of several who could have gone pro, but the notion of having to practice and play matches again absolutely sickens them. That's burnout.

To put it another way: if you liked pizza, but you had it every day, for every meal, eventually you'd get burned out on pizza.

I think it comes from the 60's, when people smoked too much dope. They were called burnouts, or burners. They smoked so much that they couldn't do much of anything BUT smoke dope.

[bluedevil]

To put it another way: if you liked pizza, but you had it every day, for every meal, eventually you'd get burned out on pizza.


Speak for yourself :-P - I did exactly that for 2 years in college and I still love pizza :P

[aclearfi]

I posted this before, but people seem to think it is excellent analysis of Somdev's game. I disagree but see what you think.

http://thetennisguysays.googlepages.com/howwillsomdevdevarrmando%3F

[cmb]

Well, the way i see it, USA tennis player have a great opportunity on the college / university league. In other countries (maybe most of them) there is no college league. If you want to go to the University pretty much you cant do anything else, you dont get any bonus from doing sports. If you want to go as a professional tennis player (or any other sport) you have to commit yourself 110% and must have the money to back that choice.

With the college leagues you can get your degree and play tennis and after that if you want you can try as a tennis pro but you still have your degree as a backup.

In reply to this quote. Much of Europe has club leagues and tournaments to play in that are not involved with the universities. The thing that the Europeans have an advantage to come over and play in the states is, especially for girls, is that it can be cheap living since their currency is superior to ours, and the fact that they can finish their degree much fast in the states then in Europe due to the easy level of schooling that most universities have here in the states. For the same qualifications (to get a 4 year degree and a masters) takes about 5 years total if the student knows how to transfer credits. In a normal highschool in europe, some students have already completed classes that they will get college credit in our universities.
Then to take a masters is another 2 years. 5 years in and out with a masters if they want. in Europe its impossible, it can take as long as 10 years sometimes for the same qualifications. So there is a huge advantage for them in our system.

However, turning pro after playing college is a low chance that you will make it. The pplayers that make it to the tour level have played after college for a decent amount of time, therefore was it really the college that helped them? or if they would have went out on tour for 3 or 4 years they probably would have improved more then play 3 years of school. Of course there are exceptions, Anderson, Isner, Becker. THese guys are exceptional players with huge weapons. Much easier for them to break through faster then someone who plays more with tactics and grinding.

reading through the thread I see a lot of comments that are just not 100% true in the real world...it sounds good to say and preach sometimes, but when you actually go out in the real world and do it, somethings said are simply not true.