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The second edition of the Maharashtra Tata Open (formerly Chennai Open) is all set to begin with main draw action on Monday. Top ATP stars have descended to the city of Pune vying for the prestigious trophy and the all-important 250 ranking points.
And with a field with as many as five Indian men's singles players, the tournament has piqued a lot of interest with local fans. Also, the presence of top players including top seed Benoit Paire and former finalist Ivo Karlovic elevate an already competitive field.
Here we take a look at the prospects of some of the top players in the draw.
Top Half
Expected semifinal: Benoit Paire vs Kwon Soon-woo
Analysis: The top half of the draw features not only top seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire, but also the highest-ranked Indian singles player in Prajnesh Gunneswaran. Paire, for one, has been handed a relatively simpler path to the semifinals, with only a handful of yesteryear stars standing in his way.
Gunneswaran, on the other hand, has a couple of young players on the ascent in his section. If he was to win his first round, the Chennai native will face a tough opponent in third seed Kwon Soon-woo. The Indian will have to be at his best from the baseline and on serve if he wishes to make any inroads, but he definitely has a game that could bother the Korean. The winner of this one should, in all likelihood, make it to the also four.
Prediction: Benoit Paire vs Kwon Soon-woo / Prajnesh Gunneswaran
Bottom Half
Expected semifinal: Stefano Travaglia vs Ricardas Berankis
Analysis: The lower half of the draw might not too many big names, but the players in this part have been some of their best tennis in recent times. An interesting prospect here is the probable second-round match between Sumit Nagal and Yuichi Sugita, both of who have played some inspired tennis in the last few months.
The winner here could have former finalist or second seed Ricardas Berankis for a shot at the last four. The other part of the draw will see the likes of Stefano Travaglia, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Jiri Vesely fight it out for the semifinal spot.
Prediction: Stefano Travaglia vs Yuici Sugita / Ivo Karlovic
