All is not well at the 17th edition of the Chennai Open, which is currently on. Normally, at this time of the year, tennis fans use to throng the SDAT stadium at Nungambakkam.
This time around though, the response has been lukewarm. Delhi teenager Yuki Bhambri punched above his weight to beat Karol Beck in the opening round, but the giant-killing act had only near empty stands as witness.
A flurry of pullouts has come as a huge disappointment for the fans. While the withdrawals of Marin Cilic — two-time champion here — and Robin Haase, both due to injuries, depleted the field, crowd favourite Somdev Devvarman’s last-minute pullout came as a shocker.
The Indian star, who made waves here by reaching the final in 2009, has decided to skip the event to nurse a recurring shoulder injury.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who won the doubles title here in the last edition, are playing with different partners this time around and it hasn’t helped the organisers’ cause either.
After parting ways with Paes, yet again, Mahesh has joined hands with his Karnataka state-mate Rohan Bopanna in a bid to develop chemistry for the London Olympics. Paes is playing with Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.
There is a glaring absence off the court as well. Ravikrishnan, the man instrumental for running the show here successfully for 16 years, has quit the International Management Group (IMG) that owns the tournament.
The suave entrepreneur who upped the Open’s glamour quotient with lavish parties, fashion shows and charity auctions is sorely missed along with his entourage of leggy models.
