There is a big gap between Devvarman's ranking and Youzhny's however it has been closing lately as the Indian national improves while the Russian declines.
Watch and bet on Somdev Devvarman vs Mikhail Youzhny at bet365>live tennis.
Somdev Devvarman, the 68th ranked player in the world, made his debut at the All England Club earlier this week in the first round. The debut was cut short however as Devvarman's opponent, Denis Gremelmayr, withdrew from the match down a set and down a break in the second set.
Devvarman is fortunate to be in a section of the draw that is somewhat wide open for a couple rounds although whether he can still play well enough to push through to the third and fourth rounds remains to be seen.
India's top player, Devvarman will face Mikhail Youzhny in the second round on Thursday and it has to be pointed out that the Russian has started to trail off on tour (
Devvarman 9/4, Youzhny 3/1; bet365).
He's still seeded 18th at Wimbledon but his ranking is kept high in no small part to his semifinal appearance in the 2010 US Open, an event that took place about nine months ago.
Since then Youzhny has been declining and he only made the third round at both Melbourne Park and Roland Garros.
The Russian, even when he was playing better, has never been all that great on grass and he's lost in the first or second round for two years running now at Wimbledon. He is a seeded player that is ripe for the pickings in the second round although perhaps Youzhny is the one with the fortunate draw.
Devvarman, a former NCAA champion, is known as a good retriever however he does not get much power on his returns. Perhaps his shoulder strength is improving now that he's 26 years old and perhaps that's the reason he's beginning to approach the top 50 on tour.
However Youzhny has so much more power in his game that it's hard to picture Devvarman staying on the court for more than four sets on Thursday.
Court 14, third match scheduled, stadium start 12:00 (UK).
