A return to Charlottesville

South Africa. Thailand. Japan. Korea. Uzbekistan — wherever that is.
Former Virginia star Somdev Devvarman’s recent travels sound like some sort of crazy remake of “Kokomo,” the song by the Beach Boys.
The only difference is Devvarman hasn’t exactly been lounging around on tropical islands.
It’s been anything but that for the former two-time NCAA champion.
Since he graduated in 2008, Devvarman has spent the better part of his life trying to crack pro tennis’ Top 100.
Tonight, the best player in the history of Virginia tennis returns home.
Devvarman, currently ranked No. 116 in the world, takes on Hungarian Denes Lukacs in the first round of the Virginia National Bank Men’s Pro Championship at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. The match gets underway around 6 p.m.
Devvarman, a native of Chennai, India, can’t wait to compete in front of Virginia fans again.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” said Devvarman on Monday. “You play so many tournaments on the road that you really look forward to coming home and playing in a tournament in front of your home crowd.
“Hopefully it will be a good week.”
Devvarman is one of four current or former Virginia players to compete in the main draw. On Monday, Virginia junior Sanam Singh made it through the qualifying rounds with an exciting three-set victory over Kaden Hensel of Austria.
Devvarman, who has been a pro for less than two years, has had a meteoric rise up the rankings.
It started with an upset of Ivo Karlovic in his hometown tournament in India, continued with a big upset over No. 15 Marin Cilic at the Legg Mason Classic in Washington in August, and culminated with a trip to the U.S. Open a couple of weeks later. Devvarman made it through qualifying in Flushing Meadow before losing in the second round of the main draw in four sets to German Phillip Kohlschreiber, the No. 24 player in the world.
More recently, Devvarman led India to a Davis Cup victory over South Africa. Devvarman, playing in front of a hostile South Africa crowd, came from two sets and a break down to win his match.
Jacek Wolicki, Devvarman’s manager, has been pleased with Devvarman’s progression.
“Getting that first-round win [in the U.S. Open] and winning in Davis Cup was huge,” Wolicki said. “He’s been through it all in a short year-and-a-half. He’s condensed the experiences that sometimes the pros have in three to four years, or sometimes don’t even have at all.”
Devvarman, who is buddies with star Andy Roddick — the two sometimes train together at Roddick’s home in Austin, Tex. — admits he was a little awestruck at the U.S. Open.
“In the locker room I was changing and just hanging out, and [Juan Martin] del Potro and [Rafael] Nadal were both right there.
“I kind of looked around and was like, ‘Whoa, we’re on the same bench and they’re on the next locker.’ I didn’t think this would happen this soon.”
Devvarman has beaten Lukacs, his opponent this evening, twice previously. They both came in college when Lukacs was at Baylor. “He’s a very aggressive baseliner,” Devvarman said. “I’ll have to be ready for that.”
Devvarman, who is coached by Scott McCain, broke into a wide smile when asked about the possibility of running into one of his former Virginia teammates later in the tournament. He didn’t hesitate when asked who he would be most fired up to play.
“Probably Treat [Huey],” he said, with a laugh, “because we go a long way back and we’ve always been competitive in every sport we play — rec basketball leagues and all that. It would be nice to play against him.”
Don’t expect Devvarman to look past Lukacs, though. After all, he wants to hang out in Charlottesville for as long as he can before he has to hit the road again.
“He’s been talking about this tournament for a long time,” Wolicki said.
Added Devvarman: “I feel like I have a really good opportunity. I’ve been playing some good tennis lately. It would be great to come out here and win some matches again.”