Final touches before the big day

The Maharashtra Open will commence in two weeks and the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) has ramped up the preparations that began just month ago. The ATP 250 World Tour Series will be played from December 1 at the Balewadi Stadium, Pune.

Tournament director Prashant Sutar revealed that the MSLTA decided to upgrade the facility in order to give a better sight and engage a larger audience. Even though it was an eleventh-hour decision, the stadium appears to be in fine shape. The tournament will be held in the state for the first time after moving from Chennai.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis played his part to ensure that the tournament is held in his state. “When we went to him to get the permission, he wanted us not just hold a tournament but also create a youth development programme in tennis for the state,” said Sutar. “One major concern for the ATP officials was the air connectivity. They were not aware about the airport in Pune. Once we informed them, the player list was ready,” he added. The new upgraded stadium has 1,000 more seats taking the capacity to 4,500-5,000. As per international tournament norms, the dressing rooms were refurbished.

Players for the qualifiers

The qualifiers will be played on December 30 and 31 with some exciting players on board. World number 41 Benoit Paire will be the star attraction. The Frenchman will be joined by Spanish world no. 164 Tommy Robredo for the race to grab the four spots in the main draw starting January 1-6, 2018.

Paire, 2015 ATP Comeback Player of the Year, has made five appearances in the Indian ATP event. The Frenchman reached the semifinal of this marquee event thrice including in 2017, 2016 & 2012. Spaniard Robredo will be coming back to India after a 14-year gap. In 2004, he lost a nail-biting semifinal to Paradorn Srichaphan while in 2002 he lost in the last-four match to Russian Andrei Stoliarov.

Paire earned his career’s biggest win this year when he beat world No. 3 Stanislas Wawrinka in ATP Masters 1000 Madrid in the second round. Interestingly, playing alongside the Swiss player, Paire had also won the 2013 Chennai Open doubles title, a feat he couldn’t repeat in the 2016 edition pairing with Austin Krajicek.

Others in the fray are world No. 110 Marco Cecchinato. The Italian who lost his qualifying match to India’s Yuki Bhambri last year will look to better his record. World no. 127 Adrian Menendez-Maceiras, world no. 186 Carlos Taberner and world no. 199 Ricardo Ojeda Lara will be three other Spanish players along with Robredo in the qualifiers.

Menendez-Maceiras will be making his second visit to Pune this year after playing in the KPIT-MSLTA Challenger event earlier in November. The Spanish lost to Bhambri in the singles semifinals while made a finals appearance in doubles. In 2015, he won the doubles title at the same event. Meanwhile if Taberner makes it to the main draw, it will be his first ever ATP World Tour event.

“With the likes of Paire and Robredo, this year’s qualifying round line up adds to the excitement of the event. India’s representation also looks strong with Gunneswaran and Nagal all in good form in recent past,” said Prashant Sutar, tournament director.