The tournament, earlier known as the Chennai Open, is the only ATP 250 event in South Asia.
Tennis fans in India could be in for a monumental treat as organisers of the Maharashtra Open plan on roping in Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in 2019. The tournament, earlier known as the Chennai Open, is the only ATP 250 event in South Asia.
Boris Becker, Stanislas Wawrinka, Carlos Moya, Marin Cilic and Rafa are some of the big names have competed in the tournament in the past.
"This year we have a star line-up with the likes of Marin Cilic, Kevin Anderson and the likes of former World No.5 Tommy Robredo playing in the qualifiers, it shows the level of competitiveness in the tournament. From what I understand, Federer and Nadal have a contract with Brisbane (Federer will be competing in Hopman Cup in Perth) for 2018 but after that we will try our best to get them on board," tournament director Prashant Sutar was quoted by News18.
World number two and one of the most successful players in the Open Era history Federer has refused to anticipate that 2018 would be his last season in tennis.
Federer, who chose to sit out the second half of 2016 in order to recover fully from his knee surgery as well as a back problem, made a stunning return to rise to No. 2 in the ATP Rankings. He went on to clinch seven titles during his comeback campaign, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
However, the victory at Melbourne Park was particularly special for the Swiss maestro as he defeated his old-rival Rafael Nadal in a five-set thriller. Though Federer's future fixtures are now most likely to be reduced and he would play only when fully fit, the retirement is not at all on his mind yet.
"I currently intend to continue to play for a longer period, hopefully for a few more years. Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open are cornerstones, everything which lies between we'll take it from there," Sport24 quoted Federer as saying. "We'll only step on court if we are 100 percent fit," he added.
The 36-year-old, however, admitted that he is expecting a tougher battle next year, with many top players set to make a return after recovering from respective injuries.
"I wonder how (Novak) Djokovic, (Andy) Murray, (Stan) Wawrinka, (Kei) Nishikori and (Milos) Raonic will come back. That will have an impact. I'm assuming that one of those players will also tear up ropes," he said.
Federer, who received a season-end defeat from David Goffin in the semi-final match of the ATP World Tour Finals, is all set to play in season-opening Australian Open, beginning January 15 at Melbourne Park.
(Inputs from ANI)
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