CHENNAI : When Prajnesh Gunneswaran turned up at the Tata Open Maharashtra in the last week of last year, he was World No 243, 30 rungs below his previous best. After his runners-up effort at the Yinzhou Challenger on Sunday, he climbed to World No 146, a new career high for the 28-year-old who describes 2018 ‘as the best year, tennis wise, for me’. There is a reason behind his thinking. It’s the eighth time in 37 weeks that he has achieved a new career high.
He could have climbed higher had he converted any of the eight break opportunities against Thomas Fabbiano on Sunday. But he is happy to have reached another milestone in his pursuit of the top 100 — a club he hopes he can break into within the next 6-8 months.
“It is probably the best tennis I have played if you want to consider this season as a whole,” he told Express from China. The results bear him out. Till April, his best performance in a tournament was the win at a Futures event in Chandigarh. That track record changed after he won the $150,000 Challenger at Anning in April. It was his maiden title at that level and he has gone from strength to strength since then.
Interestingly, the Tamil Nadu lad concedes he hasn’t overhauled his technique or anything major. But he has worked extensively on returning and his backhand game, two of his weaknesses when 2018 began. “I have just been gradually improving I think. I haven’t changed anything with respect to my approach or my style, but I have focused on returning and improving my backhand game.”
Davis Cup skipper Mahesh Bhupathi, who is happy with the depth in the men’s game in India, has a different take on the matter. “I think he has become more confident. He has added confidence in his game and that’s very important. It breeds success and you can see from his big wins against the likes of Denis Shapavalov that he has the game to succeed at the highest level.”
Gunneswaran, who won a critical final round rubber against China in a Davis Cup encounter earlier this year, says another reason behind the jump is because of his increased experience. The next six-eight months will be crucial but Gunneswaran, who has only recently stopped playing in Futures events, is not planning to count the chickens before they hatch.
He plans to play a mix of Challengers as well as World Tour events (he qualified for four main draw meets in 2018) and won’t alter his calendar in the hope of cracking the top 100. Considering he will play at least three more Challengers this year, chances are he may set a new career high before the year is out.
swaroop@newindianexpress.com