Chennai Jan 4, 2009: Indian or not Indian but very Indian, wildcard entry Prakash Amritraj meets World No. 32 German Rainer Schuettler in the first round of the ATP Chennai Open that kicks off at the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium here on Monday Jan 5.
The draws for the premier Indian tennis tournament were made in on Saturday January 3 at the Volovo Lounge in the stadium premises. India’s tennis legend Vijay Amritraj hosted the draw ceremony and Carlos Sanches ATP supervisor did the honors. Some current players of the tournament like Rainer Schuettler, Leander Paes, his doubles partner Luke Dlouhy took active part in the draw ceremony.
India’s number one singles player Somdev Devvarman will play Kevin Kim, a US national of Korean descent. Kim is ranked 117 in the ATP chart while 204th ranked Somdev, has received a wildcard.
Top seed Nikolay Davydenko, ranked fifth will find himself up against the 125th ranked Daniel Koellerer of Austria. Second seed Stanislas Wawrinka and Chennai regular Carlos Moya will play a qualifier.
Lukas Dlouhy, Leander Paes’ doubles partner, another wild card in singles, plays Go Soeda of Japan. Lee Hyung Taik of Korea will play Marcel Granollers of Spain. Janko Tipsarevic, of Serbia, will play Pablo Andujar of Spain.
Commenting on the draw Vijay Amritraj said, “First round matches can be pretty even. Even the ones who qualify will have had match practice, so it will not be as easy as it seems for the higher ranked players.”
According to him world No. 23 and third seed Marin Cilic holds a good chance of winning the title. He also suggested keeping a watch on Somdev Dev Varman vs Kevin Kim match. “It could be an even contest. Kevin is a good player on hard courts, and Somdev did exceptionally well last year,” said Vijay Amritraj. "Tipsarevic is the other player to watch. This surface suits his style of play," he added.
Rainer Schuettler had never imagined that Prakash Amritraj would be his first round opponent. “It’s not really an ideal draw since I practiced with him a few days ago. He’s been playing well and has had some good results. I will have the crowd against me this time, but that’s ok. I have to be very careful though. I had to play at my best to beat him.”
“Personally I’m feeling good. I’ve been practicing in Kenya and have gotten used to the heat, which means it shouldn’t be a problem adjusting to the weather here,” said the German.
Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic who partners Leander Paes said, “The first round match will be tough but I have been practicing as I would for any tournament. It’s been a pleasure to come here after Leander invited me. I hope to continue getting good results,” while taking at the draw ceremony.
Doubles Draw
In doubles, No.2 seeds Leander Paes of India and Czech Lukas Dlouhy will be up against Rainer Schuettler and Bjorn Phau of Germany.
Top seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas will take on wildcards Prakash Amritraj and Somdev Dev Varman.
No.3 seeds Zovko Lovro of Croatia and Wassen Rogier of the Netherlands will play Martin Alberto of Spain and Dudi Sela.
Rohan Bopanna and Cippola Flavio of Italy will face Americans Scott Lipsky and David Martin.
The Indian pair of Harsh Mankad and Yuki Bhambri will play American Rajiv Ram and Eric Butorac.
Going by the draws of Chennai Open 2009, its certain that that some exciting tennis matches would be on display at the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium from January 5 to 11. There is much excitement about this week long sporting festivity in the city and there is little doubt that the 14th edition of Chennai Open too is going to drawing large crowds.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com