ATP World Tour
The ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals), formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Bob Briner, Jack Kramer, and Chris Drysdale with a vision to foster the interests of tennis players, organises a worldwide tour known as ATP World Tour. The ATP is a one-of-its-kind platform, which hosts the celebration of tennis and encourages players from all over the world to cognize their passion and grace the tournament with their participation.
The 2017 ATP world calendar comprised of Grand Slam tournaments (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF)) such as the ATP World Tour Masters 1000s, the ATP World Tour 500 series, the ATP World Tour 250 series, the Davis Cup (organized by the ITF), and the ATP Finals. In addition to these, the TATA Open Maharashtra, India’s only ATP World Tour stop was one of the 3 tournaments for the opening week of season. The Maharashtra Open (formerly known as the Aircel Chennai Open) was announced in September 2017, by Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis and officially marked Pune’s entry to the ‘ATP World Tour 250’.
The TATA Open Maharashtra commenced on January 1, 2018 in Pune and over an intense 6 days, saw ranked players from across the world participate in a bid to win the title. The finals that took place on January 6, 2018 at the Mhalunge Balewadi Stadium, saw Gilles Simon of France emerge as the winner of the men’s singles title, beating World No 14 Kevin Anderson in straight sets 7-6 (4), 6-2. Gilles Simon was however not so lucky in his doubles outing with teammate Pierre-Hugues Herbert, as they were defeated by the Dutch duo, Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop, who claimed the doubles title, 7-6, 7-6.
This year, the ABIL Group, headquartered in Pune too joined the ranks of prestigious global sponsors of the ATP World Tour, such as Emirates, FedEx, Peugeot and Infosys. As part of ABIL Group’s continued contribution to the growth and success of sports, the real estate, hospitality and infrastructure company assumed the role of the official sponsor of the TATA Open Maharashtra.
