The 2020 Maharashtra Open, also known as the Pune Open, is an ATP event which will be played on outdoor hard courts at the Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Complex in Pune, India, between February 3 and 9. It forms part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2020 ATP Tour.
History of the Event
The Maharashtra Open – which has gone by a variety of names during its history – is currently the only ATP world tour event held in South Asia. First played in 1986 in New Delhi, it was subsequently shifted to Chennai, and then Pune, its home since 2018.
The most successful player in the event’s history has been Stan Wawrinka who has won the title four times, most recently in 2016. Marin Cilic and, further back, Carlos Moya, have both won it twice. Rafael Nadal was a beaten finalist in 2008.
Kevin Anderson of South Africa won the tournament last year, beating the veteran Croat Ivo Karlovic in three sets in the final. It was the only event he won in what turned out to be an injury-blighted season.
Who is Playing at the 2020 Pune Open?
Unlike previous years, not a single player in the world’s top twenty has entered the competition this time round, a grave disappointment for tournament organisers and sponsors.
This would seem to be a direct consequence of moving the date of the tournament – it used to be the season opener, but now it is sandwiched between the Australian Open and the start of the American hard court swing. It is also competing with two other, higher profile ATP events, in Montpellier and Cordoba, at the same time.
Benoit Paire of France is the number one seed this year. The 30-year-old has won three career titles, two of which came last year, the clay court events in Marrakesh and Lyon. Runner-up at Winston Salem in August, he has already been in one final this year, losing to compatriot Ugo Humbert in Auckland.
The number two seed is the Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis, who has yet to win an ATP title, but has enjoyed considerable success on the Challenger Tour, where he has won 14 events, including four last year – in Rennes, Drummondville and Vancouver in Canada, and Busan, South Korea.
Stefano Travaglia of Italy is the number three seed, but the world number 74 is primarily a clay court specialist and may struggler on the harder surface.
The most successful man in the field, at least in terms of titles won, is the number four seed, Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, who, in a long career, has won eight events on the ATP tour. However, he is now, at 36, at the veteran stage of his career, and like Travaglia, very much a clay court player.
Some of the other top players who will take part in this year’s competition include Soonwoo Kwon of Korea, tall-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Salvatore Caruso, the 95th-ranked Italian and upcoming youngster Egor Gerasimov.
Pune Open 2020 Prediction
Egor Gerasimov to win
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