CHENNAI: The Chennai Open promises to be an exciting affair with World No 6 Marin Cilic of Croatia seeded top. Although defending champion Stan Wawrinka’s absence may have robbed the tournament of some sheen, the field looks competitive with the likes of Roberto Bautista Agut, Benoit Paire, Borna Coric, Tommy Robredo and Mikhail Youzhny.
“The field is good and there are exciting pairings. In doubles, there will be five Indian pairs in action and fans cannot ask for more,” said Karti Chidambaram, vice-president of TNTA after the draw ceremony on Saturday.
Wildcard Ramanathan Ramkumar has been pitted against a qualifier. “A qualifier is better prepared to take a player on in the first round. He has two matches to polish his game and would have shed that rustiness. It is never easy playing a qualifier and I will not take him lightly. I would like to go out and express myself,” said Ramkumar.
Another wildcard Saketh Myneni will meet World No 57 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia who has played in the Open in the past.The Russian had mixed results last year and was plagued with injuries.
“I know that I have better knowledge of the conditions and crowd support. I know that he (Youzhny) is coming after injuries, but I just want to go out and enjoy my game,” said Saketh.
Anand Amritraj, India’s Davis Cup captain, said: “Ramkumar will meet a qualifier, which could be tough as the guy (qualifier) gets two outings to work on his game. But I believe Saketh will have a tough opponent in Youzhny. The Russian is an experienced player and he has been there at the top.”
When pointed out that Youzhny has been injury prone, Anand was dismissive. “See it is the first match of the season, you never know. What if he (Youzhny) begins well? Never take chances against an experienced player,” he said.
Casper Ruud of Norway added: “It’s tough to predict how well you will do, but I just want to start well. After many weeks of training, I think everyone is eager to go out there and start playing.”
ashok.v@newindianexpress.com