Pune: With top tennis players from across the world, including world No. 15 Aslan Karatsev of Russia, ace Indian Rohan Bopanna and rising Italian star Lorenzo Musetti headlining the field, the Tata Open Maharashtra is set to kick off later on Monday at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune.
The tournament will see four Indians — Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Arjun Kadhe – competing in the singles main draw.
As the main draw commences, here are the five Indian stars to look out for in the fourth edition of South Asia’s only ATP Tour tournament.
1. Rohan Bopanna: Bopanna will start as a strong contender for the doubles title, partnering Ramkumar Ramanathan. He has two titles to his name in the tournament, with the first coming in Chennai in 2017 playing with Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, and the second at the 2019 edition in Pune with Divij Sharan. Apart from winning the Asian Games gold, Bopanna also had a runners-up finish at the 2010 US Open. The former world No. 3 had twice reached the men’s doubles semifinals at Wimbledon. The second-seeded pair of Bopanna and Ramkumar will begin their campaign against the American duo of Nicholas Monroe and Jamie Cerretani.
2. Yuki Bhambri: Making a comeback after 2018, the singles player will be eager to make his mark in the tournament. During his last appearance, he was one of the two Indians to reach the pre-quarterfinals. He also reached the semifinals in the doubles, playing alongside Divij Sharan. The 29-year-old recently returned to the circuit after recovering from an injury which kept him away for two years. The former junior world No.1 played at the Australian Open qualifiers this month. He will start his campaign on Monday against Slovak player Josef Kovalik. In 2018, he achieved his career-best ranking of 83. Bhambri won two bronze at the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon – in singles and doubles — playing with Divij Sharan. He was the first Indian junior to win the Australian Open as well as fourth Indian in history to capture a junior singles Grand Slam title.
3. Ramkumar Ramanathan: India’s top-ranked player, he will be returning to Pune making his fourth appearance at the Tata Open Maharashtra. A wildcard entrant in singles, Ramkumar will also feature in doubles as he secured direct entry, teaming up with Rohan Bopanna. The 27-year-old from Chennai had a memorable end to 2021 as he clinched his maiden singles title in Bahrain and also won the doubles title at the Adelaide International with Bopanna earlier this year. A regular face at one of India’s oldest sporting events, Ramkumar will begin his singles challenge on Monday against Italy’s Stefano Travaglia.
4. Arjun Kadhe: He is one of the popular names at the tournament. The local boy will be making his fourth appearance in the event. The 2020 national champion has won two ITF Futures singles titles and seven ITF Futures doubles titles. In the last edition of the tournament, the 28-year-old lost to Jiri Vesely, who went onto clinch the title. Having made his ATP singles as well as doubles debut at Tata Open Maharashtra in 2018, Kadhe, who entered the tournament as a wildcard, will start his campaign in the singles against Joao Sousa of Portugal and will also be seen in doubles alongside Purav Raja.
5. Prajnesh Gunneswaran: He has returned to Pune for his fourth appearance at the Tata Open Maharashtra 2022. The only Indian to reach pre-quarters in the last edition, Prajnesh will begin his challenge in the singles main draw on Monday against Germany’s Daniel Altmaier. The 32-year-old had a breakthrough year in 2019 wherein he broke into top-100, claiming a career-best ranking of 75 and also earned his first Grand Slam main draw appearance at the Wimbledon. He has eight ITF singles titles to his name. He has also represented India at the Davis Cup.
IANS
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