Injury rules former champion Cilic out of Chennai Open

Two-time winner Marin Cilic of Croatia has been ruled out of the 2012 Chennai Open, India's only ATP World Tour event, due to an injury.

The 17th edition of the tournament will be held at the SDAT Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium from January 2 to 8 and will see an impressive line-up of Indian and international players, including world No 8 Janko Tipsarevic and No 10 Nicolas Almagro, defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka and former champion Xavier Malisse in action.

World No 21 Cilic, winner of the prestigious the singles title in 2009 and 2010, suffered a patella tendon injury which has ruled him out of the Chennai tournament as well as the season's first Grand Slam, the Australian Open.

Following this withdrawal, Karol Beck of Slovakia, ranked No 100 will be a part of the singles main draw at the event.

"Having started the previous five seasons at the Chennai Open, the city is a home away from home for me. Only an injury could have kept me away from the Chennai Open," the left-handed Croatian said.

"Thankfully, I am recovering well from the patella tendon injury and I'll surely be back next year. I wish all the participants the best for the tournament. I'll be following it closely," he added.

Cilic, a crowd favourite at Chennai, was aiming to become the first singles player to win the tournament thrice.