The inaugural Tata Open Maharashtra tennis tournament begins in Pune today. The ATP 250 event will have five top-50 players. Tournament-favourite Marin Cilic and defending champion Roberto Bautista Agut got first round byes. Another hot contender will be US Open finalist and second seed Kevin Anderson, the world number 14 from South Africa.Indian youngsters, led by Yuki Bhambri, will look to exploit the familiar home conditions and start the new season on a high. Bhambri opens his 2018 campaign against local boy Arjun Kadhe, who has returned to professional circuit only last year. Ramkumar Ramanathan, who shocked World No. 8 Dominic Thiem at Antalya Open, has been drawn against Spain's Carballes Baena, the World No. 108, in his opening round. Sumit Nagal will also compete in the singles main draw after coming through qualifying stage. Nagal will make his debut on the ATP World Tour at this event, which moved out of Chennai due to financial issues.The doubles draw will have four Indian pairs competing. Legendary Leander Paes and his partner Purav Raja have been pitted against defending champions Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan. Qatar Open kicks off 2018 season without big stars One of the season's traditional curtain-raisers, the Qatar Open, begins today. However, with the late withdrawal of Novak Djokovic, the tournament is shorn of its usual A-list headline acts. Djokovic, the champion in Doha for the past two years, pulled out on Saturday because of continuing problems with a niggling elbow injury. His absence has also placed doubts over his participation in January's Australian Open. This year, though, the field in Qatar is less eye-catching but may provide an opportunity for the new stars of tennis to push through. With Djokovic gone, the number one seeding has been handed to world number five, Dominic Thiem.