Tata Open Maharashtra 2020: World No 24 Benoit Paire to return for India's only tournament on ATP Tour

Pune: Stylish Frenchman and World No 24 Benoit Paire will headline the field at the Tata Open Maharashtra but South African Kevin Anderson will not return to defend his title at India’s only ATP 250 event, starting on 3 February. [caption id=“attachment_5188571” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo Benoit Paire. Reuters[/caption] Last edition’s runner-up Ivo Karlovic will return for the third edition of the tournament, which has now been shifted to the first week of February instead of being a season-opener. With the ATP reshuffling calendar to accommodate the ATP Cup, which is happening for the first time, the tournament will now be held after the Australian Open. Former Wimbledon quarterfinalist with a career-high rank of 16, Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber will make his debut at the event. The 30-year-old Paire, who touched a career-high ranking of 18 in 2016 and won two ATP titles in 2018, had reached the quarter-finals in the previous edition. Paire has been in sizzling form in 2019, winning titles at Lyon and Marrakech. Kohlschreiber, who has eight ATP tour titles spread over three different surfaces, had upset World No 1 Novak Djokovic at the Indian Wells Masters this year. “This is a very special edition when we are celebrating 25 years of ATP Tour in India. The tournament has always had a rich legacy of champions playing here and the silver jubilee year will be no different as we hope to roll out yet another memorable edition of thrilling tennis action,” said Prashant Sutar, the Tournament Director. Sunder Iyer, Secretary of Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association, said, “We have a highly competitive field and are all set for yet another year of high-quality action.” Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely who upset World No 5 Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon this year would be the one to watch out for. With a stellar career in juniors that includes World No 1 rank and the US Open title, Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis will target his first ATP title in Pune as will Italy’s Stefano Travaglia, Salvatore Caruso and Thomas Fabbiano. The NextGen will be spearheaded by Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon who qualified for the Wimbledon Championships and also made it to the quarter-finals in Los Cabos.