Chennai, Aug 4 - Aircel, the leading telecom player in Tamil Nadu, has come to the rescue of ATP Chennai Open tennis tournament by signing a two-year sponsorship deal with the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) to the tune of Rs.50 million.

The contract was signed here Tuesday by TNTA president M.A. Alagappan and K.V.P. Baskar, Operations Director - South. The tournament will be held at SDAT Tennis Stadium, Nungambakkam, here Jan 4-10.

Vice-president All-India Tennis Association and tournament committee chairman Karti P. Chidambaram said Aircel will be the 'principal' sponsor and the tournament will continue to have the backing of a consortium of secondary sponsors made up of several public sector units and the Tamil Nadu government.

The tournament, previously backed by ITC and Tata Group, each for five and three years since the International Management Group (IMG) brought the event to India in 1996 when it was first held in Delhi, sponsored by the UB group, before being shifted to Chennai, was supported by a consortium headed by the TN government for the past five years.