Croatia’s Marin Cilic has pulled out of Tata Open Maharashtra. The World No. 7 announced the decision through his social media accounts.
“I am sad to announce I have had to pull out of the Tata Open Maharashtra. My sincerest apologies to the fans and organizers. I was looking forward to returning, however, my knee pains that began toward the end of the season have escalated. Treatments during the short off season have been helping but there is still a ways to go and I cannot go into this tournament knowing I am not currently able to give 100%. I will miss celebrating New Year’s in India this year as I have done for so many years now, but I hope to continue my New Year’s tradition there next year! Happy Holidays to all and I look forward to seeing many of you in Australia,” Cilic posted on his account.
“He got in touch with us late last night and was very apologetic about his inability to compete in the tournament. The fans would surely miss out on watching a world-class player like him. But having said that, the field is still competitive with the likes of Kevin Anderson, defending champion Gilles Simon, Hyeon Chung and Malek Jaziri and tennis lovers should look forward to some exciting action in the next week. We wish Marin a speedy recovery,” said tournament director Prashant Sutar.
The tournament will be played at the Mhalunge Balewadi Stadium, Pune from December 31, 2018 to January 5, 2019 with qualifiers beginning from December 29 2018. Portuguese player Pedro Sousa will enter the main draw.