French tennis player Gilles Simon had a difficult season in 2017, slipping in the ATP rankings from being 25th in January to a year-end ranking of 89.
But the French player isn’t bogged down by the disappointing season gone by and hopes to start the new season with a renewed form. The 33-year-old will begin his upcoming season at the Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune.
This is the first time he is starting his season in India and is looking forward to playing in the country. “I did not have a good season last year but I am now fresh and raring to go here in Pune. This is the first time I will be playing in India, usually I started my season in Australia but have now decided to play in India and I am looking forward to performing well,” Simon said.
The 33-year-old said that he is very confident of his chances in Pune and believes he can do well against the top players here. “I have won a total of 12 ATP 250 World Tour events in my career and I will aim to do my best here in Pune as well. There are a lot of good players participating here but I am confident that if I perform up to my full potential, I can beat the best in the world,” he added.
The other big names in the singles draw at Tata Open are world No 6 Marin Cilic who will be the top seed, world no 14 Anderson, world no 20 Roberto Bautista Agut, who won the 2017 Chennai Open, and world no 42 Robin Haase of Netherlands.
India’s only ATP 250 tournament, the Tata Open Maharashtra will take place in Pune with the main draw from 1st January 2018 and the final taking place on 6th January 2018.