India's biggest tennis tournament is being conducted by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) in association with the Government of Maharashtra for the fifth year in Pune with the initial 5-year hosting contract ending this year.
The 2014 US Open champion Cilic, who received a bye in the opening round, made a dominating start in the match and took the first set without breaking a sweat
Ramkumar Ramanathan and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela now face the three-time Grand Slam champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, who overcame the challenge from Sebastian Baez-Luis David Martinez 6-3, 7-6 (1) in their opening encounter.
Ramkumar Ramanathan will be the fourth Indian to feature in the singles main draw at the ongoing edition of South Asia's only ATP 250 event, which is being conducted by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) in association with the Government of Maharashtra for the fifth year
The Pune-born teenager Manas Dhamne is the current Asian Junior champion and one of the youngest to clinch that title. Dhamne has also been selected for the Grand Slam Player Grant Programme 2023.
The 25-year-old Nagal is the second wild card entrant in the singles main draw after Mukund Sasikumar. Nagal featured in the French Open and US Open qualifiers earlier this year and also reached the quarter-finals of the ChallengATPer event in Germany in August
Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was held behind closed doors last year but fans can now join the grand celebration of the fifth edition of the tournament, scheduled to be held from December 31 to January 7 in Pune
The tournament celebrates its fifth edition in Pune and will be organized by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association in association with the Government of Maharashtra
The last two editions of the tournament were held in the first week of February. However, now the players can gear up for the season's first Grand Slam Australian Open, by competing in Pune.