It’s going from good to better for Prajnesh Gunneswaran.
Having earned qualification for his maiden ATP Masters 1000 event, India’s rising tennis star has made a dream debut at the big stage at Indian Wells.
Gunneswaran downed Frenchman Benoit Paire – ranked 69th in the world, and a seasoned hand on the tour – in the opening round of the BNP Paribas Indian Wells Masters in California on Thursday, 7 March.
Gunneswaran won 7-6, 6-4.
The 29-year-old left-hander only sealed his entry into the Indian Wells main draw earlier on Thursday, defeating Italian Salvatore Cruso 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in an hour and 41 minutes to make the cut.
He was back on court a few hours later, as the tournament proper kicked off on the West coast of the United States – an event which will see Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal competing together at the same competition (outside Grand Slams) for the first time since November 2017.
At 97, Prajnesh is comfortably the highest-ranked Indian on the circuit. But he was the clear underdog in his clash with Paire, with 28 rankings spots separating the players.
That wasn’t the only gulf between the players. They might be the same age, but Paire has been a regular feature at Grand Slams for the majority of this decade – with two fourth round appearances to boot, at the US Open 2015 and Wimbledon 2017 – while Gunneswaran only made his major debut at this year’s Australian Open in January.
Where it really mattered, though – on the court – the Indian didn’t let the difference tell. Gunneswaran coped well with the pressure of the big stage, saving five out of eight break points he faced – while converting four of the six break opportunities he got on Paire’s serve.
It proved to be telling in an otherwise tight contest; only nine points separated the two, and the unfancied Gunneswaran was through in just a shade under an hour and a half.
Gunneswaran is now assured of reaching a career-high ranking of 80 at the end of the Indian Wells Masters – the sixth-best for an Indian in the Open Era.
He’ll be raring to go further, but the next examination is an even sterner one. Gunneswaran faces world number 18 Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia in the second round.
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