Agut, Coric confirm participation in Chennai Open tennis tournament

Chennai, Nov 21 (IANS) World No.14 Spaniard Roberto Agut and No.48 Croat Borna Coric on Monday confirmed their participation in the 22nd edition of the Chennai Open tennis tournament.

World No.6 Marin Cilic will be the top seed of the tournament, starting on January 2, at the SDAT Tennis Stadium here.

Agut will be making his fifth straight appearance at the tournament.

He will be one of the strongest challengers to Cilic, having won two Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) titles last season.

He claimed the Auckland Open in January and the Sofia Open in February, lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open and the French Open, while also featuring in the Shanghai Masters final.

"I am looking forward to begin the new season with doing my best at Chennai and try and break into the top 10 as soon as possible," Agut said in a release on Monday.

The 28-year-old is the youngest player from Spain after Rafael Nadal to get into the top 20, reaching as high as No.13 in October.

Agut lost to then World No.9 Janko Tipsarevic in the 2013 Chennai Open final.

"I have been in good form this season and hope to carry the momentum and win my maiden title here. I like this tournament as it's perfect preparation for the rest of my season," he said.

Coric, 19, is an exciting young talent. The 2013 US Open boys' champion will be making his third appearance at the tournament. He was the losing finalist in 2016 at Chennai.

"I am quite excited at returning to India. After coming so close last year, I know I have a good chance of winning the title this year. I am focused and am looking forward to winning my first ATP title," Coric said.

--IANS

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