The ATP Aircel Chennai Open commencing here on January 3 will serve as a stepping stone for Indian Davis Cupper Somdev Devvarman, ranked 84, as he begins the long haul to break into top-50 of the tennis rankings and also qualify for the London Olympics.


Somdev Devvarman. PIC/AFP

Having enjoyed a middling to a good 2011 season that saw him reach the final at Johannesburg, Devvarman acknowledged that the path to the Olympics is all about consistency.

"The focus is definitely on the Olympics, I will just work on improving my game further, and breaking into the (world's) top-50 would be nice," said Devvarman in release.

Devvarman began the season ranked 108, moved up to a career-best of 63 before sliding to 84, but hoped that he would have a better run in the New Year.

Reviewing the season, the 26-year old said: "The sudden rise was due to good matches and favourable outcomes and the sudden slump due to (shoulder) injury.

"Reaching the finals of the Tour event in Johannesburg is definitely up there. Besides that, I also got to play the likes of (Roger) Federer, Rafa (Nadal) on the big stage and also got some good wins against players like Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and (Janko) Tipsarevic.