Somdev, Prakash start Wimbledon campaign on winning note

London : Ace Indian tennis player Somdev Devvarman and Prakash Amritraj began their Wimbledon qualifying campaign with easy straight-set wins over their respective rivals.

Somdev, seeded third in the qualifiers, scored a hassle free 6-2 6-2 win over Frenchman Guillaume Rufin, who is placed 70 places below him, in the first round of the grass court Grand Slam.

Ranked 104 in the ATP chart, Somdev will next take on American Ryler Deheart, who is placed 114 places below him.

US-based Prakash also made a positive start by beating 28th seeded German Dieter Kindlmann 6-3 6-4 in his first round encounter.

Incidentally, Somdev and Prakash are up against each other in the doubles qualifiers.

While Somdev has teamed up with Philippines' Treat Conrad  Huey, Prakash has joined hands with Swiss Yves Allegro.

The other Indian in the fray is Harsh Mankad, who has and his partner Ilija Bozoljac of Serbia are seeded eighth in the qualifiers. They duo will take on Brazilian pair of Thiago Alves and Joao Souza in the first round.