Indian Wells Masters | Prajnesh Gunneswaran beats Nikoloz Basilashvili to enter Round 3
Prajnesh Gunneswaran has defeated World No. 17 Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 in the second round of the ongoing Indian Wells Masters to qualify for the third round of the competition. Gunneswaran, who is playing his first ATP Masters 1000, registered his first win over a top 20 player.
It was a closely-fought three-set match that continued for two hours and 34 minutes in the second round of the Indian Wells Masters as the 29-year-old Indian didn’t look back after making into the main draw for the first time in his career. After beating Benoit Paire in the first round, the top-ranked Indian got the better of the Georgian tennis player in the second and will now meet Ivo Karlovic in the next round at Indian Wells.
With a single break, Gunneswaran took the lead in the first set. The 27-year-old Georgian was broken in the fifth game where Gunneswaran had a good advantage. The Indian took the opening set away in 31 minutes to have an upper hand against Basilashvili.
Gunneswaran forced a tie break in the second set after he saved a break and a set point. The third set also went into a tie break where Basilashvili lost his serve on the third point and Gunneswaran didn’t let him bounce back and won the tie to go ahead in the competition.
Gunneswaran got into the top 100 recently and has the best rank in India. In 2018, he had won his first ATP Challenge title in April and made his maiden appearance in the ATP main draw in June. Earlier this year, Gunneswaran made his Grand Slam debut in the main draw of the Australian Open.
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