Somdev Devvarman in quarterfinals of US Challenger event

Somdev Devvarman struggled past Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel in three sets to progress to the singles quarter-finals of the ATP Challenger tournament, here.

The Indian recorded a 4-6 7-5 6-1 win over his opponent in the second round of the USD 75,000 hard court tournament.

Somdev, a wild card entrant, next faces American eighth seed Denis Kudla. He had lost six consecutive first round matches before coming into this tournament.

The Indian, who missed the first half of the season as he was recuperating from a shoulder surgery, has slid to 733 in the singles ATP rankings.

He had made a comeback to competitive tennis at the London Olympics.