Indian tennis players will have to struggle to register their presence in domestic tournaments

Indian singles players, who have reached the main draw either through wild cards or through qualifiers, will have to do their utmost to make it ahead in the domestic ATP tournament Tata Open Maharashtra, starting here on Monday. The Indian players have done well in the doubles and went far enough in the previous stage but since the tournament shifted from Chennai to Pune, no singles player has progressed past the second round. The aim of bringing this tournament to the country was to provide domestic players an opportunity to play with the top players of the game.

But looking at the results of domestic players, it is sometimes debated whether it is really necessary to host such a big tournament, which costs at least 15 crores. But it is very difficult to call off a tournament just because. Although the level of the tournament has been the best. However, the experienced Rohan Bopanna has done exceptionally well on home soil. He remains a contender even abroad because of the level of his game. On the other hand, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal can challenge the top players if they are in good form but the same performance needs to be replicated in a tournament of this level.

Since single rankings are not enough for direct entry, the organizers have given wildcards to country’s best-ranked players Sasikumar Mukund, Nagal and talented local player Manas Dhamane (15 years old). Unfortunately Yuki Bhambri lost in the second round of the qualifiers and could not qualify for the main draw. Bhambri, Ramkumar and Prajnesh Gunneswaran have kept the Indian flag flying high in this tournament but their performances are slowly fading away. Prajnesh is 33, Yuki is in his 30s and Ramkumar is also in his late 20s.

Nagal (25 years) has been struggling with injuries. If Nagal has to do anything special, he will have to reach beyond the first round. He will face Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic (ranked 54) in the first round. Sashimukund will face Flavio Coboli and if he clears the first round hurdle, he will face second seed and world No. 17 Bottic Van de Jandschulp. Ramkumar will face Pedro Martinez of Spain while Dhamane will face Michael Mamoh of America.

In singles, it will be tough for the Indians to reach the next round and it will be a good performance for them if they even reach the quarterfinals. In doubles, however, the Indian interest is more as a lot of players play in it. Defending champions Bopanna and Ramkumar, playing with different partners, could meet in the second round if they cross their first round ties. Yuki and Saketh Myneni have made the pairing and Divij Sharan and Purav Raj have made it through the wild cards. Arjun Kandhe has partnered with Fernando Ramboli of Brazil.