Pune, Jan 27 (IANS): Tata Motors, India's leading multinational automobile manufacturer, will continue to support the Tata Open Maharashtra tennis tournament, for the fourth consecutive year.

South Asia's lone ATP World Tour event will be held at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi here from January 31 to February 6.

This year, India's safest hatchbacks, Tata Altroz on its second anniversary, will be the lead car from Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles.

The Tata Open Maharashtra, the ATP 250 tournament and the c'untry's oldest sporting international event, is a flagship and an important association for Tata Motors, which has been at the forefront of India's mobility revolution for 75+ years and continues to offer an extensive range of smart, sustainable and integrated mobility solutions, a diverse portfolio that includes cars, sports utility vehicles, trucks, buses and defence vehicles.

The prestigious IMG-owned tournament, organised by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association and licensed by Rise World, was supported by Tata also for a brief period from 2002-2004 when it was held in Chennai. The Tata Group offered to support the event once again after it was shifted to Pune in 2018 and the partnership has grown stronger since.

"The tournament has always attracted top players each year and boasts of a history of completing 25 years of World-class tennis organised, played and followed in India by tennis fans. We are delighted that Tata Motors have extended their support for this tournament since it was shifted to Pun" in 2018," said Prashant Sutar, Tournament Director of Tata Open Maharashtra.

This year, nine players from the top 100 are in the fray. The draw will be headlined by World No.15, Russian Aslan Karatsev who was judged ATP's Most Improved Player of the Year in 2021 and recently won the Sydney Tennis Classic title defeating Andy Murray. On the home front, Yuki Bhambri (singles) Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan (doubles) have secured direct entry.

Historically, India's only ATP event has seen participation by World's top players like Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic, Carlos Moya, Pat Rafter and their ilk besides India's top guns, Somdev Devvarman, and doubles icons Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi.

The fourth edition of the tournament is all set to make its return after a one-year break, due to Covid-19 pandemic. The qualifying rounds are scheduled for January 30 and 31, while the main draws will kick off on February 1.