Mandya, Jan 5:
The New Year begins on a bright note for tennis in Karnataka as the Sugar Town of Mandya will be back on the global tennis map after a gap of eight years when it hosts the PET ITF Mandya Open ITF Men’s World Tennis Tour at the PET Stadium here from Jan 7 to 14. Mandya had last hosted an international event in May 2015 with previous events being held in 2010 and 2012.
The tournament boasts a prize pool of US $25,000 and has drawn top talent from around the globe which includes players from over 18 countries. The top five players on the acceptance list include Eric Vanshelboim of Ukraine, South African Kris van Wyk, Giles Hussey of Great Britain, Thomas Fancutt of Australia and India’s Sasikumar Mukund. One of Karnataka’s brightest talents SD Prajwal Dev from the neighbouring Mysore district and who has just been inducted in the Indian Davis Cup team is amongst five Indians who have got a direct entry.
Dayanand KR, President of Mandya District Lawn Tennis Association who is also Chairman of Organising Committee said: “I’m extremely proud that the ITF World Tennis Tour event is coming back to Mandya after a gap of eight years. We have left no stone unturned to ensure that the players have a comfortable time in Mandya both on and off the court. I would like to thank all the sponsors, especially the president of PET KS Vijayanand and co-sponsors Stone Co, without whom the event would not be possible. I request the public to come and watch some of the best talent on display. On behalf of everyone, I wish all the players the very best.”
Maheshwar Rao, Honorary Secretary, KSLTA in a statement said: “It is our endeavour to develop and grow the sport of tennis across the state. In the recent months, we have had ITF events in Dharwad, Davanagere and Kalaburagi where the spectators came in large numbers and supported the players. KSLTA is the only state Tennis association in the country to boast of 12 districts capable of holding such international events. We hope that events like these will benefit the local players while giving small towns an international exposure.”
The main draw in the singles competition will comprise of 32 players with 20 of them gaining direct entry while four of them will earn a wild card. The remaining eight players will come from a pool of 32 players who will be playing the qualifying rounds to be held on 7th and 8th of January. As many as 16 pairs will vie for the doubles title. The doubles finals will be played on 13th January while the singles finals will be held on January 14.
The tournament would not only provide a platform for emerging talents but also offer tennis enthusiasts in Mandya and neighbouring regions a unique opportunity to witness high-level professional tennis. Going by the quality of the field, an exciting week of tennis action is in store for the tennis enthusiasts.
GR Amarnath would be the Tournament Director while Puneet Gupta would be the ITF Supervisor for this event.
Meanwhile, the wildcards for the main event included Rishi Reddy, Manish G, Manish Sureshkumar and Neeraj Yashpal.
