Cilic, Botic, Ruusuvuori Top Seeds In Pune Draw

Returning finalist Emil Ruusuvuori, seeded third at the Tata Open Maharashtra, attended the event’s draw ceremony on Saturday as he learned his path back to the title match in India. The Norwegian could face 15-year-old wild card Manas Dhamne — a home-nation favourite who also took part in the ceremony ahead of his tour-level debut — in the quarter-finals.

Top seed and two-time former champion Marin Cilic — who won the 2009 and 2010 titles when the event was held in Chennai — was placed on the draw’s top line as the top seed at the ATP 250. After a bye, he will face a Spaniard in the second round: Roberto Carballes Baena or Bernebe Zapata Miralles. Fourth seed Sebastian Baez is a potential semi-final opponent, with seventh seed Jaume Munar and eighth seed Aslan Karatsev also in the top half.

Second seed Botic van de Zandschulp anchors the draw on its bottom line and will open against either Indian wild card Mukund Sasikumar or a qualifier in the second round. He is joined in the bottom half by Ruusuvuori, fifth seed Alex Molcan and sixth seed Filip Krajinovic, with the latter to meet Indian wild card Sumit Nagal in the first round.

Main-draw play in Pune begins on 2 January, with four places still to be filled by qualifiers.