Chennai: India's top singles players Yuki Bhambri and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan were today awarded wild card entries to compete in the USD 450,000 Chennai Open, beginning Monday here.
India's highest-ranked player Somdev Devvarman (90) had made it to the main draw after Estonia's Jurgen Zopp pulled out with a back injury.
There more Indian players have been given wild cards to compete in the doubles event. The team of Sriram Balaji and Ramkumar Ramanathan along with the pair of Saketh Myneni and Russia's Karen Khachanov have been awarded doubles wild cards.
Great Britain's Kyle Edmund, a World No. 377 has also been awarded a singles wild card.
Yuki had won Traralgon Challenger event this season and will make his Grand Slam debut next year at the Australian Open men's doubles event, having won a wild card with New Zealand's Michael Venus at the play-off tournament in Shenzhen, China.
Left-handed Jeevan had had a good 2013 season, with 50 singles matches victories on the ITF circuit.
"We are glad to award wild card entries to some very promising and exciting singles and doubles talent. Players such as Yuki, Jeevan, Sriram, Ramkumar and Saketh continue to show a lot of potential and represent the future of Indian tennis. Karen Khachanov and Kyle Edmund have also been performing very well indeed. We are hopeful the players will do very well in the Chennai Open 2014," Karti P Chidambaram, Chairman, Tournament Organising Committee, said.
