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Home , Arjun Kadhe, Barry Cowan (tennis), Byron Black, Dick Norman, Ilya Ivashka, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan

TATA OPEN MAHARASHTRA – ATP MEDIA NOTES PREVIEW & DAY 1 – MONDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2020

Balewadi Stadium | , | 3 – 9 February 2020

ATP Tour Tournament Media ATPTour.com maharashtraopen.com Mark Epps: [email protected] (ATP PR) Twitter: @ATPTour @MaharashtraOpen Udita Dutta: [email protected] (Media Desk) Facebook: @ATPTour @MaharashtraOpen TV & Radio: TennisTV.com

TATA OPEN MAHARASHTRA SINGLES

SEED PLAYER 2019 W-L (BEST FINISH) PUNE W-L (BEST FINISH) 1 Benoit Paire (FRA) 34-29 (Marrakech, Lyon Champion) 14-7 (2013, 2016-2018 SF) 2 Ricardas Berankis (LTU) 9-12 (Dubai QF) 1-1 (2015 2R) 3 (ITA) 5-7 (Umag QF) 0-0 (Debut) 4 Soonwoo Kwon (KOR) 7-7 (Los Cabos QF) 0-0 (Debut) 5 Yuichi Sugita (JPN) 3-4 (Stockholm SF) 3-2 (2012 QF) 6 (AUS) 0-3 (49-18 at Challenger level, 4 titles) 0-0 (Debut) 7 Salvatore Caruso (ITA) 6-6 (Umag SF) 0-0 (Debut) 8 (BLR) 10-7 (St. Petersburg SF) 0-0 (Debut)

Singles Final Sunday 9 February not before 5:00 pm Qualifiers (4) Roberto Marcora (ITA), Nikola Milojevic (SRB), Lukas Rosol (CZE), (SRB) Wild Cards (3) (IND), (IND), (IND) Protected Ranking (1) Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (GER) Oldest Champion: , 33, in 2018 Youngest Champion: Marin Cilic, 20, in 2009 Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 4 Patrick Rafter in 1998 and in 2015-16 Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 96 Michal Tabara in 2001 Most Titles: Stan Wawrinka (4)

COUNTRY BREAKDOWN (13)

India (5) , Arjun Kadhe, Sasikumar Mukund, , Ramkumar Ramanathan Italy (5) Salvatore Caruso, , Paolo Lorenzi, Roberto Marcora, Stefano Travaglia Germany (3) , Yannick Maden, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (2) Egor Gerasimov, Ilya Ivashka Czech Republic (2) Lukas Rosol, Jiri Vesely (2) , Benoit Paire Japan (2) , Yuichi Sugita Serbia (2) Nikola Milojevic, Viktor Troicki Australia (1) James Duckworth (1) Ivo Karlovic Korea (1) Soonwoo Kwon Lithuania (1) Ricardas Berankis Russia (1)

FEDEX ATP RANKING POINTS AND PRIZE MONEY

Tata Open Maharashtra W F SF QF R16 R32 Singles Ranking Points 250 150 90 45 20 0 Singles Prize Money ($) 91,625 50,710 28,540 16,250 9,320 5,450 Doubles Ranking Points 250 150 90 45 0 -- Doubles Prize Money ($) 30,900 15,840 8,580 4,910 2,880 -- *Singles players who receive byes and lose in R16 earn 0 ranking points.

For the latest stats, facts and figures about the ATP Tour, follow @ATPMediaInfo on Twitter. Tata Open Maharashtra Preview & Day 1 – Monday 3 February 2020 Page 2 of 5 www.ATPTour.com

TATA OPEN MAHARASHTRA TALKING POINTS

• No.1 seed Benoit Paire arrives in Pune with a 7-3 record in 2020, having lost all 3 matches in the final set tiebreak (ATP Cup to Anderson, Auckland F to Humbert, 2R to Cilic). The Frenchman has reached the QF or better in 6 of his 7 appearances at the Tata Open Maharashtra.This is the 5th time in his career that Paire is seeded No.1 at an ATP Tour event (2019 Winston-Salem, Antalya, 2016 Sao Paulo, 2012 Los Angeles).

• No. 2 seed Ricardas Berankis is playing in Pune for the 2nd time. His only previous appearance was in 2015 where he fell in 2R to . The No.1 Lithuanian is 1-2 in 2020 (l. in 1R, Australian Open 2R).

• Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Sumit Nagal become the 4th and 5th Indians to have a direct entry into the Tata Open Maharashtra Singles draw without a Wildcard or coming through qualification.(, & are the others). That’s the first time 2 Indians are directly in the Tata Open Maharashtra singles main draw.

• 2019 Finalist Ivo Karlovic first played here as a qualifier in 2002 (l. to eventual Champion Canas in 2R). The Croat finished year-end ranked in the top 100 for a total of 16 years between 2003-2019. Karlovic, who will turn 41 on 28 February, is the oldest player in the top 700 of the FedEx ATP Rankings.

• There will be a new Tata Open Maharashtra Singles Champion this week as there are no past champions in this year’s event.

• Former doubles world No. 1 Leander Paes is appearing for the 21st time at the Tata Open Maharashtra and has won the event 6 times (5-times with and once with Janko Tipsarevic). He first played the event in 1996 when it was held in New . The Indian has 54 career titles and has won at least 1 ATP Tour doubles title for 19 consecutive years (1997-2015) with his last title coming in 2015 Auckland with .

PAST SINGLES FINALS (2009-2019)

YEAR CHAMPION FINALIST SCORE 2019 (RSA) Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 7-6(4) 6-7(2) 7-6(5) 2018 Gilles Simon (FRA) Kevin Anderson (RSA) 7-6(4) 6-2 2017 Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) (RUS) 6-3 6-4 2016 Stan Wawrinka (SUI) Borna Coric (CRO) 6-3 7-5 2015 Stan Wawrinka (SUI) Aljaz Bedene (SLO) 6-3 6-4 2014 Stan Wawrinka (SUI) Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 7-5 6-2 2013 Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 3-6 6-1 6-3 2012 (CAN) Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 7-6(4) 2011 Stan Wawrinka (SUI) (BEL) 7-5 4-6 6-1 2010 Marin Cilic (CRO) Stan Wawrinka (SUI) 7-6(2) 7-6(3) 2009 Marin Cilic (CRO) Somdev Devvarman (IND) 6-4 7-6(3) BOLD: Player in 2020 Tata Open Maharashtra singles draw.

TATA OPEN MAHARASHTRA DOUBLES

SEED TEAM 2019 W-L (BEST FINISH) PUNE W-L (BEST FINISH) (NED) 30-21 (Umag W) 8-3 (2018 Champion) 1 (SWE) 17-22 (Metz W) 2-2 (2005, 2018 QF) (IND) 26-22 (Pune, St.Petersburg W) 9-4 (2019 Champion) 2 (NZL) 19-27 (Antalya W) 2-2 (2017 SF) (ISR) 11-8 (Antalya W) 6-8 (2004, 2012 Finalist) 3 Andrei Vasilevski (BLR) 3-5 (Zuhai SF) 1-1 (2018 QF) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE) 7-12 (Sofia F) 0-0 (Debut) 4 (UKR) 12-19 (Munich, Antalya, Umag SF) 1-1 (2019 QF) Doubles Final: Sunday 9 February at 3:00 p.m.

For the latest stats, facts and figures about the ATP Tour, follow @ATPMediaInfo on Twitter. Tata Open Maharashtra Preview & Day 1 – Monday 3 February 2020 Page 3 of 5 www.ATPTour.com

PAST DOUBLES FINALS

YEAR CHAMPION FINALIST SCORE 2019 /Divij Sharan /Jonny O’Mara 6-3 6-4 2018 Robin Haase/Matwe Middelkoop Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Gilles Simon 7-6(5) 7-6(5) 2017 Rohan Bopanna/ /Divij Sharan 6-3 6-4 2016 / /Benoit Paire 6-3 7-5 2015 Yen-Hsun Lu/ Raven Klaasen/Leander Paes 6-3 7-6(4) 2014 Johan Brunstrom/ /Mate Pavic 6-2 4-6 [10-7] 2013 Benoit Paire/Stan Wawrinka / 6-2 6-1 2012 Leander Paes/Janko Tipsarevic Jonathan Erlich/ 6-4 6-4 2011 Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes Robin Haase/ 6-2 6-7(3) [10-7] 2010 /Santiago Ventura Yen-Hsun Lu/Janko Tipsarevic 7-5 6-2 2009 / Jean-Claude Scherrer/Stan Wawrinka 6-3 6-4 2008 / / 6-4 7-5 2007 Xavier Malisse/ /Bartolome Salva-Vidal 7-6(4) 7-6(4) 2006 Michal Mertinak/Petr Pala /Rohan Bopanna 6-2 7-5 2005 Yen-Hsun Lu/Rainer Schuettler Mahesh Bhupathi/Jonas Bjorkman 7-5 4-6 7-6(4) 2004 Rafael Nadal/ Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram 7-6(3) 4-6 6-3 2003 / Frantisek Cermak/Leos Friedl 7-6(1) 7-6(3) 2002 Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes Tomas Cibulec/Ota Fukarek 5-7 6-2 7-5 2001 / /Mose Navarra 6-4 6-3 2000 Julien Boutter/ Saurav Panja/Srinath Prahlad 7-5 6-1 1999 Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes Wayne Black/ 4-6 7-5 6-4 1998 Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes Olivier Delaitre/ 6-7 6-3 6-2 1997 Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes Oleg Ogorodov/Eyal Ran 7-6 7-5 1996 Jonas Bjorkman/ Byron Black/ 4-6 6-4 6-4 BOLD: Player in 2020 Tata Open Maharashtra doubles draw.

FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS: MONDAY FIRST-ROUND SINGLES MATCHES

CENTRE COURT

[PR] Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (GER) vs Ivo Karlovic (CRO) First Meeting

Stebe Summary | Age: 29 | World No. 149 | 7-10 in 2019 (Gstaad F) • In 2020, Suffered a 5 set loss in 1R Australian Open to Benoit Paire. • In 2019, reached 1st ATP Tour SF and final of career at Gstaad as 455th-ranked PR (d. J. Sousa, l. to Ramos-Vinolas). • Became lowest-ranked ATP Tour finalist since No. 866 Sluiter at 2009 ’s-Hertogenbosch. • Entered Gstaad on 7-match losing streak dating back to Play-off in September 2017 (d. J. Sousa). • Advanced to US Open 2R for 3rd time (d. Krajinovic, l. to Cilic in 4 sets). • Rose 198 spots to No. 257 in ATP Rankings on 29 July. • Returned at Marrakech following 2 right wrist surgeries in 2018 and 15-month hiatus (l. to Tsonga in 1R).

Karlovic Summary | Age: 40 | World No. 121 | 11-15 in 2019 (Pune F) • In 2020, advanced to Australian Open 2R at age 40 (d. Pospisil, l. to Monfils). • Remains oldest match winner since Rosewall, 44, at 1978 Australian Open. • Lost to Vesely in Doha qualifying 1R. • In 2019, turned 40 on 28 February, becoming 4th player in Top 100 at or over age 40 (also Connors, Rosewall, Ulrich). • Advanced to Pune final (l. to Anderson in 3 TBs). Oldest finalist at age 39 since Rosewall, 43, at 1977 Hong Kong. • Loss by 6-foot-11 Karlovic to 6-foot-8 Anderson marked tallest final in Open Era. • Beat Arnaboldi to become oldest match winner at Wimbledon since Rosewall, 40, in 1975 (l. to Fabbiano in 2R). • Defeated Lopez to become oldest match winner at Roland Garros since Ulrich, 43, in 1973 (l. to Thompson in 2R). • Match vs. Lopez, 37, was oldest on tour since 1978 Sydney Indoor (Rosewall, 43, vs. Crealy, 34). • Ended season by reaching Houston, USA Challenger final (l. to Giron in 3rd-set TB).

For the latest stats, facts and figures about the ATP Tour, follow @ATPMediaInfo on Twitter. Tata Open Maharashtra Preview & Day 1 – Monday 3 February 2020 Page 4 of 5 www.ATPTour.com

[5] Yuichi Sugita (JPN) vs Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) First Tour Level Meeting Other meeting 17 CH (China) Hard QF Yuichi Sugita 6-2 6-4

Sugita Summary | Age: 31 | World No. 86 | 3-4 in 2019 (Stockholm SF) • In 2020, reached Noumea Challenger Final (l. to Wolf). • Made Australian Open 2R (d. Benchetrit, l. to Rublev). • In 2019, made 3rd career SF appearance as a in Stockholm (l. to Shapovalov). • Compiled a 34-19 W-L record at Challenger level, winning in Binghampton & Yokkaichi. • From July-September won 16 of 17 matches at Challenger level, with only loss in that period against Hyeon Chung in Chengdu Final. • Qualified for Wimbledon where he lost in 1R to Rafael Nadal.

Fabbiano Summary | Age: 30 | World No. 134 | 10-18 in 2019 (Eastbourne SF) • In 2020, failed to qualify for Australian Open (l. in 1R of qualifying to Vukic). • Reached 3R of Noumea Challenger (l. to Kavcic). • In 2019, defeated No. 6 Tsitsipas en route to Wimbledon 3R (l. to Verdasco). • Withstood 67 aces to defeat Opelka in 5th-set TB and reach Australian Open 3R (l. to Dimitrov). • Earned biggest win of career over No. 4 Thiem in US Open 1R (l. to Bublik in 2R after leading by 2 sets). • Qualified and snapped 9-match tour-level losing streak en route to 1st ATP Tour SF at Eastbourne (l. to Querrey). • Also qualified at (l. to Tsonga in 1R) and Dubai (l. to Verdasco in 1R). • Defeated countryman Sonego to reach Gstaad QF (l. to Stebe).

Sumit Nagal (IND) vs [Q] Viktor Troicki (SRB) First Meeting

Nagal Summary | Age: 22 | World No. 125 | 40-21 in 2019 at Challenger level ( Champion) • In 2020, lost in 1R Australian Open qualifying to Safwat. • Reached career-high ranking of 125 on 3 February. • In 2019, broke into Top 200 of FedEx ATP Rankings on 29 July. • Reached Challenger SFs at Savannah, USA (l. to Lorenzi); Samarkand, UZB (l. to Menezes); Lyon, FRA (l. to E. Ymer); Bratislava, SVK (l. to Gombos) and Milan, ITA (l. to Petrovic). • Qualified at Hamburg (l. to Gasquet in 1R) and US Open (l. to Federer in 1R). Seeking 1st tour-level win of career.

Troicki Summary | Age: 33 | World No. 191 | 4-4 in 2019 (Antalya QF) • In 2020, Retired in 2R of Australian Open qualifying against Eubanks. • In 2019, qualified at Australian Open and beat Carballes Baena in 1R for 7th straight win in a 5th set (l. to Tsitsipas in 2R). • Also qualified at Antalya (d. Paire, l. to Kecmanovic in QF) and Newport (l. to Bublik in 2R). • Earned 3 Top-100 wins to reach Surbiton, GBR Challenger final (d. Humbert, Karlovic and Kudla; l. to Evans). • Fell to No. 259 in ATP Rankings on 13 May -- lowest since No. 408 on 1 September 2014. • Compiled a 1-3 record in doubles during the year for Serbia’s Davis Cup team (was 6-2 from 2008-2019). • Retired in Nottingham, GBR Challenger 1R vs. Koepfer due to left leg injury. • Withdrew from qualifying at US Open and St. Petersburg due to calf muscle tear.

[7] Salvatore Caruso (ITA) vs [WC] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) First Tour Level Meeting Other meetings 16 Brescia CH (Italy) Carpet R16 Salvatore Caruso 6-4 7-5 17 Recanati CH (Italy) Hard R16 Salvatore Caruso 6-7(5) 6-3 7-5

Caruso Summary | Age: 27 | World No. 98 | 6-6 in 2019 (Umag SF) • In 2020, achieved career-high No. 93 in FedEx ATP Rankings on 6 January. • Suffered straight-set loss to Tsitsipas in Australian Open 1R. • Fell in qualifying at Doha (l. to Barrere in Q1) and Adelaide (l. to Delbonis in Q2 and Struff in 1R as LL). • In 2019, Broke into Top 100 of ATP Rankings on 7 October. • Qualified and earned biggest win of career over No. 14 Coric en route to 1st ATP Tour QF and SF at Umag (ret. vs. Lajovic due to left adductor strain). Withdrew from Hamburg due to same injury. • Posted 1st Grand Slam wins at Roland Garros as Q (d. Munar and Simon, l. to No. 1 Djokovic in 3R). • Defeated No. 21 Goffin en route to Phoenix, USA Challenger SF (l. to Kukushkin).

For the latest stats, facts and figures about the ATP Tour, follow @ATPMediaInfo on Twitter. Tata Open Maharashtra Preview & Day 1 – Monday 3 February 2020 Page 5 of 5 www.ATPTour.com

Ramanathan Summary | Age: 25 | World No. 182 | 3-5 in 2019 (Pune, Newport 2R) • In 2020, lost in 1R of Australian Open qualifying to Coria. • Lost to #NextGenATP player Ruusuvuori in 3 sets at Bendigo Challenger. • In 2019, Reached 2R in Pune (l. to Jaziri in 3 sets). • Qualified at Newport and saved 1 MP vs. Stakhovsky in 1R (l. to Humbert in 2R). • Reached SF of Pune Challenger in November (l. to Duckworth).

FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS: REMAINING FIRST-ROUND SINGLES MATCHES

Lukas Rosol (CZE) vs Roberto Marcora (ITA) First Meeting

Taro Daniel (JPN) vs Sasikumar Mukund (IND) First Meeting

Peter Gojowczyk (GER) vs James Duckworth (AUS) First Meeting

Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) vs Yannick Maden (GER) First Tour Level Meeting Other meeting 16 Furth Q (Germany) Clay -- Yannick Maden 6-4 6-4

Nikola Milojevic (SRB) vs Antoine Hoang (FRA) First Tour Level Meeting 15 Tunisia F31 (Tunisia) Hard F Nikola Milojevic 2-6 7-5 6-4

Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) vs Egor Gerasimov (BLR) First Meeting

Arjun Kadhe (IND) vs Jiri Vesely (CZE) First Meeting

Ilya Ivashka (BLR) vs Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) First Tour Level Meeting Other meetings 16 Recanati CH (Italy) Hard SF Ilya Ivashka 5-7 7-6(8) 6-2 16 Astana CH (Kazakhstan) Hard SF Evgeny Donskoy 6-4 6-4 17 Shenzhen CH (China) Hard R32 Evgeny Donskoy 3-6 6-3 7-6(0)

For the latest stats, facts and figures about the ATP Tour, follow @ATPMediaInfo on Twitter.