Australian Open: Prajnesh misses opportunity to face Djokovic

Australian Open: Prajnesh misses opportunity to face Djokovic

Ranked 122, Prajnesh, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser in the qualifiers, lost 4-6 2-6 5-7 to Japanese wild card Tatsuma Ito, ranked 22 places below him in a rescheduled first round tie that lasted two hours and one minute.

AgenciesUpdated: Wednesday, January 22, 2020, 03:34 AM IST
article-image
Indian Tennis player Prajnesh Gunneswaran | AFP

India's top ranked tennis player Prajnesh Gunneswaran missed out on a chance to compete against world number two Novak Djokovic as he crashed out of the Australian Open following defeat in men's singles opening round, here on Tuesday.

Ranked 122, Prajnesh, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser in the qualifiers, lost 4-6 2-6 5-7 to Japanese wild card Tatsuma Ito, ranked 22 places below him in a rescheduled first round tie that lasted two hours and one minute.

With this loss, Prajnesh lost a golden opportunity to face Djokovic in the second round. Ito will now take on the Serbian in his next match. Djokovic had prevailed over tough German opponent Jan-Lennard Struff on Monday.

"Definitely he (Ito) was a beatable opponent, good draw for me and for him as well because I was also not direct entrant. Since I had three matches coming into this contest, I was more sharp in the setting but the nerves got better of me today, I was mentally off," Prajnesh told PTI.

"I never really got calm, did not find my range, not composed and that made the most impact on the match. I still had a chace in the third set, I was a break up but I let that slip. He did a good job, did everything that was necessary," he added.

This was Prajnesh's fifth straight appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam event having played in all four majors last year. He had qualified for the Australian Open in 2019.

With Prajnesh's ouster, India's campaign ended in the singles event of the Australian Open as Ankita Raina, Sumit Nagal and Ramkumar Ramanathan had exited in the singles qualifiers.

In men's doubles, India's Divij Sharan and his Kiwi partner Artem Sitak will face Spanish-Portuguese pair of Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa in the opening round, while Rohan Bopanna and Japanese Yasutaka Uchiyama will play 13th seeded American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan.

RECENT STORIES

VIDEO: MI Skipper Hardik Pandya Shoves Off Lasith Malinga After Losing To SRH, Netizens Slam His...

VIDEO: MI Skipper Hardik Pandya Shoves Off Lasith Malinga After Losing To SRH, Netizens Slam His...

'I’m Hitting 4 Sixes In An Over': Riyan Parag's Old Tweet Surfaces After His Explosive Performance...

'I’m Hitting 4 Sixes In An Over': Riyan Parag's Old Tweet Surfaces After His Explosive Performance...

Interesting Moments From RR vs DC IPL 2024 Match As Riyan Parag Steals The Show

Interesting Moments From RR vs DC IPL 2024 Match As Riyan Parag Steals The Show

'Riyan Parag 2.0': Suryakumar Yadav Heaps Praise On Youngster's Belligerent 84-Run Knock In RR vs DC...

'Riyan Parag 2.0': Suryakumar Yadav Heaps Praise On Youngster's Belligerent 84-Run Knock In RR vs DC...

Viral Video: DC Skipper Rishabh Pant Furious After His Dismissal, Hits The Curtain With His Bat In...

Viral Video: DC Skipper Rishabh Pant Furious After His Dismissal, Hits The Curtain With His Bat In...