Onus on Eugenie Bouchard to light up return of Chennai Open

The ATP Chennai Open was a marquee event that moved out of the city in 2017, and now the ball is in the women’s court to make it a memorable comeback. For starters, it will be wild card Eugenie Bouchard in action. The Canadian beauty, a former Wimbledon finalist, was once tipped to be Maria Sharapova’s successor.

Injuries and lack of form didn’t allow her to realize her potential, but Chennai Open gives her a chance to rekindle some old magic. The crowds at the stadium will be keen to see Genie, as she is better known, kick off the action against unseeded Swiss Joanne Zuger. The event did suffer a bit when top two seeds Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia and Belgium’s Elise Mertens withdrew.

India No. 1 Ankita Raina has her task cut out as she takes on fourth seed Tatjana Maria of Germany in the first round on Tuesday. Maria, who landed here on Sunday, had made the Wimbledon semifinals this year.