Saketh, Prajnesh set up all-Indian title clash
Saketh Myneni braved a topsy-turvy ride against Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Nedovyesov while Prajnesh Gunneswaran beat Canadian Brayden Schnur in straight sets to set up an all-India title clash at the Bengaluru Open Tennis ATP Challenger Tour here on Friday.
Left-handed fourth seed Gunneswaran, ranked 144th in the world, beat Schnur 6-4, 6-1. He broke Schnur in the very first game and thereafter dominated the Canadian, winning four of the seven break points to close out the match in just under an hour.
“I played well and had him under pressure after an early break in the first set. Saketh has a very good serve and has his style of playing, so it will be tough but I will look to play well,” Gunneswaran said.
He can in all probability become India No 1 if he wins on Saturday, after the injured Yuki Bhambri dropped out of the Pune Challenger.
Bhambri is set to drop at least 115 points over the week while Gunneswaran will see his rankings rise by at least 20-30 places even if he finishes runner-up, which can put him ahead of both Bhambri and Ramkumar Ramanathan.
“I am not sure if the points I gain will help me get into the Australian Open main draw because I will lose a few from two ITF Futures I played this year, but I am happy. It is yet to sink in,” he said.
Wildcard Myneni was up against Nedovyesov, who at one point was ranked as high as 72. He looked off-colour in the first set losing 4-6.
But he slowly clawed his way back to win the second 6-4 and was up 5-1, serving for the match in the third. But unforced errors and perhaps the excitement of reaching his first ATP Challenger final this year got the better of the Indian as he allowed Nedovyesov to rally before sealing the set 6-4 for the match. Nedovyesov was leading 3-1 in the second set before Myneni finally broke serve in the sixth game to level the game 3-3.
“I started a bit slow and couple of unforced errors at crucial junctures also didn’t help my cause. The second-set break where I levelled and went 4-3 up gave me the confidence,” Myneni said.
The Indian, ranked 312 in singles, broke serve in the 10th game of the decider to seal victory. The set looked like a walk in the park for Myneni as he broke Nedovyesov twice, in the second and fourth games, and held serve to go 5-0 up.
Myneni was serving for the match at 5-1, but Nedovyesov broke his serve twice to make it 5-4. The Indian though managed to regroup and win in two hours.
“I was trying to be a bit aggressive but had a couple of double faults. Then he started playing some solid tennis,” Myneni explained.
AUSSIES WIN DOUBLES
Australia’s Max Purcell and Luke Saville defeated second seeded India-Croatia pair of Purav Raja and Antonia Sancic 7-6(3), 6-3 to lift the doubles title, after a final lasting one hour and 21 minutes. Results: Singles semi-finals: 4Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) bt Brayden Schnur (CAN) 6-4, 6-1; Saketh Myneni (IND) bt Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.