Pune, Dec 20 (IANS): Following the rescheduling of the Australian Open, the next edition of India's premier tennis tournament Tata Open Maharashtra is now looking for possible new dates in 2021.

With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic disrupting the start of the ATP season, the Australian Open, which generally takes place in January, will now be played from February 8 to 21.

However, the organisers of the Tata Open Maharashtra want to host the fourth edition of the event and have been in talks with the ATP, the governing body of men's professional tennis, to explore a possible slot in the second half of the calendar.

"While a number of events are cancelled and postponed, we are happy that we still have an opportunity to rework the dates and stage the tournament. We, at Tata Open Maharashtra, are committed to bringing the tournament back for Indian tennis fans," Tournament Director Prashant Sutar said as per a media statement.

The possible rescheduling of the event will also provide organisers sufficient time to create a secure bubble environment and implement their plans in the best interest of the players and stakeholders as well as work with the government to reassess the 14-day quarantine rule with existing international protocols. Currently ATP follows the international norm of 72-hour prior Covid test and negative certification instead of 14-day quarantine.

Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) secretary Sunder Iyer said: "Tata Open Maharashtra is one of the key events in the Indian sporting calendar. We at MSLTA extend full support and are working closely with the organisers IMG Reliance to stage the prestigious tournament once again with all the glory along with the best safety protocols in place."

The last edition of the tournament saw Czech Republic's Jiri Vesely emerging champion in the singles while the pair of Andre Goransson and Christopher Rungkat claiming the doubles title.