Pune: Prajnesh Gunneswaran stamped his authority at home with a sensational straight sets victory against Germany's Yannick Maden in the singles opening round match at the third edition of Tata Open Maharashtra at Balewadi Stadium here on Tuesday.
India’s No. 1 Gunneswaran held his nerves throughout the match as both the sets went into tie-breakers before the Indian wrapped up the hard-fought contest 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) to begin his campaign on a winning note.
In the other singles opening round match local boy Arjun Kadhe suffered a straight-set 6-2, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Jiri Vesley. Playing in front of home crowd, Kadhe, who received a wild card entry into the main draw, tried to make a comeback into the match with some good fight in the second set but it was too late as the 26-year-old Czech player wrapped up the match convincingly.
India’s Rohan Bopanna and Sumit Nagal will be key attraction as they will begin their quest for the doubles title on Wednesday.
Just a day after getting knocked out in the singles opening round, India’s rising star Nagal will be back in action, as he eas included in the doubles main draw following the withdrawal of Peter Gojowczyk due to injury.
Paes, Ebden through
Legendary Leander Paes marked his arrival with a t6-2, 7-6 (7-5) win over compatriot Divij Sharan in the doubles opening round match. Playing alongside Australian partner Matthew Ebden, Paes, who is playing his last tournament, showed his class during his clinical victory against defending champions.