Dev-Sinha pair keen to make a mark in Delhi Open tennis

Leading Indian tennis players S D Prajwal Dev and Nitin Kumar Sinha will team up as they look to capitalise on familiar home conditions against a strong international line-up at the Delhi Open, which gets underway next week at the DLTA Complex. The ATP Challenger event, scheduled from February 16 to 22, will showcase a formidable field comprising established doubles specialists as well as singles players pairing up, with Australia's Dane Sweeny and Japan's Seita Watanabe leading the charge in a competitive doubles draw. Heading the Indian challenge will be Dev and Sinha, the highest-ranked all-Indian pair in the main draw. Dev is currently ranked 219th in the world, while Sinha sits at 243rd. Sweeny and Watanabe enter the tournament as the top-ranked pair in the field with a combined team ranking of 265. Watanabe is currently ranked 127 in doubles, while Sweeny is 138th in singles. The depth of the doubles draw is further highlighted by the presence of five players -- Great Britain's Jay Clarke, Australia's Sweeny, Belgium's Michael Geerts, Poland's Daniel Michalski and Japan's Rio Noguchi -- who will be competing in both the singles and doubles events. Seven teams have secured direct entry into the main draw based on their doubles rankings. In addition, Sweeny, Clarke and Michalski have gained entry into the doubles competition through their respective singles rankings. ''The Delhi Open has established itself as one of the most competitive Challenger events in the region. It plays a crucial role in bridging Indian talent with top international competition, giving our players the advantage of competing at home while offering fans world-class tennis from close quarters,'' said DLTA president Rohit Rajpal in a release. ''The strength of this year's doubles field reflects the tournament's rising quality. The mix of specialist doubles players and singles competitors raises the overall standard and exposes Indian players to diverse playing styles and tactical demands at the Challenger level,'' he added. The tournament offers valuable ranking points and competitive opportunities for emerging and established players alike.