Leander Paes gets wild card entry in Chennai Open
Veteran tennis player Leander Paes will lead India's charge in the doubles event in the 2017 Chennai Open. He is seeded third and will partner with Brazil's Andre Sa. The 18 Grand Slams winner has won the doubles title in Chennai six times, five of which came with his Indian partner Mahesh Bhupathi. He was runner-up in 2015.
The Chennai Open is the only ATP tournament which is held in India and takes place in the first week of January every year. First held in the year 1996, Chennai Open has seen top players from the world of tennis participate and win the tournament. Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka has won the singles title four times, most by any player.
The Aircel Chennai Open 2017 will take place at the SADT Tennis Stadium in Chennai from 2-8 January. Into its 22nd edition now, the total prize money for the tournament is $450,000.
Two time winner in the Chennai Open, Marin Cilic will be the top seed in the 2017 edition of the tournament after the 2016 title winner Stan Wawrinka pulled out. World number six Cilic had won the tournament twice, in 2009 and 2010. Spain's 14th ranked Roberto Agut and world no. 48 Borna Coric also signed up for the season's opening ATP event.
N Sriram Balaji and national champion Vishnu Vardhan will pair up to compete in the doubles event, while Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan will lead India's challenge in the singles event.
