Somdev and Prakash advance, Yuki ousted

Melbourne: Somdev Devvarman and Prakash Amritraj began their Australian Open qualifying campaign with contrasting wins but it was end of the road for Yuki Bhambri here on Wednesday.

Somdev, seeded 27, made short work of local teen James Duckworth 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the men's singles qualifying draw.

In contrast, Amritraj came from behind to beat Germany's Andre Begemann 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the second round. However, Yuki Bhambri frittered away a strong start to lose his opening encounter 6-3, 3-6, 3-6 to Jan Minar of Czech Republic.

Somdev will next take on Germany's Tobias Kamke while Amritraj will clash with French 25th seed Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

The main draw competition will begin from Monday.