The 2017 edition of the Chennai Open, India's only stop on the ATP World Tour, begins on Monday. The tournament is one of three simultaneous events - along with the Brisbane International and the Qatar Open - to kick off the 2017 men's tour ahead of the season's first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, which gets underway on January 16.
Here are four reasons to watch the Chennai Open:
1. Star-studded history
Beginning life as the McDowell Open in New Delhi in 1996 before it was moved to Chennai the following year, the Chennai Open has always attracted big names. Boris Becker participated in 1998 but was knocked out early. Former World No. 1 players Pat Rafter (1998) and Carlos Moya (2004, '05) are past champions.
Moya was a crowd favourite and a regular in Chennai, playing his part in a three-set marathon in the 2008 semifinals against friend and fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal, whose coaching team he recently joined. Nadal won but had nothing left in the tank for the final against Russia's Mikhail Youzhny. Nadal also won the doubles title with compatriot Tommy Robredo in 2004.
The Chennai Open was where India's doubles veterans Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi got their reunion off to a winning start to lift their fifth Chennai title in 2011.
2. Indians in action
Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan are the only Indians in men's singles thus far, while Yuki Bhambri entered the main draw after coming through the qualifiers.
Myneni faces a tough task in his opener, having been drawn against Youzhny.
"Yes, it is going to be a big challenge for me. He has been a top player for so many years," Myneni said. "I have to bring out my best if I want to make a good start to 2016. I am looking forward to it."
Myneni will fancy his chances, having strung together some encouraging results this year. The 29-year-old made the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time at the US Open, where he took Czech Republic's Jiri Vesely to a fifth set in a first-round loss. Myneni also gained invaluable experience playing a singles rubber and a doubles rubber in India's 5-0 whitewash at the hands of Spain in the Davis Cup World Group Playoff tie in September.
Ramanathan, on the other hand, has been drawn to face a qualifier in his first match of 2017. The 22-year-old seemed unaffected by the uncertainty of not knowing who his opponent would be.
Ramanathan will savour a return to his hometown, where he made the quarterfinals last year and beat compatriot Somdev Devvarman, who announced his retirement from professional tennis on Sunday, en route to the round of 16 in 2014.
India has a substantial presence in the doubles draw with four all-Indian teams. Paes, teaming up with Brazil's Andre Sa, will go up against India's Purav Raja and Divij Sharan in his opener. Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan take on Marcelo Demoliner of Brazil and Croatia's Nikola Mektic. N Sriram Balaji and Vishnu Vardhan, as well as Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan, are the other two Indian teams.
3. International players
Despite the absence of three-time defending champion Stan Wawrinka, who is playing in Brisbane this year, the tournament is not without notable international names.
Croatia's Marin Cilic, champion in 2009 and 2010, is the top seed. The 2014 US Open winner lifted titles in Cincinnati and Basel at the end of last season to finish the year a career-high World No. 6 and will look to make the most of Wawrinka's absence. Borna Coric, a promising 20-year-old Croatian whose baseline game has drawn comparisons to Novak Djokovic, will look to do one better than his runner-up finish last year.
Nadal hasn't played in Chennai since 2008, but the tournament still gets its share of Spaniards, including second and third seeds Roberto Bautista Agut and Albert Ramos Vinolas, as well as Guillermo Garcia Lopez and veteran Robredo.
4. Australian Open preparation
The Australian Open is played in the peak of summer in the Southern hemisphere. Cramps, heat exhaustion and even withdrawals are a common occurrence as players resort to ice-filled towels to battle the heat and humidity in Melbourne. The tournament even has an extreme heat policy, which calls for the suspension of play on outside courts and closure of roofs in stadiums that have one if the temperature crosses a certain limit.
The Chennai Open serves as useful preparation for the season's first Grand Slam not just in timing, but with its similar conditions as well.
Consider the case of Wawrinka, who won the doubles title in Chennai in 2013, the year he took Djokovic to five sets in the round of 16 in Melbourne. The next year, the Swiss won the Chennai Open singles title before winning his first Grand Slam three weeks later at the Australian Open, defeating Djokovic in the quarterfinals. In 2015, Wawrinka won his second straight Chennai Open before losing to Djokovic in the semis in Melbourne.