CHENNAI : China has been a happy hunting ground for Prajnesh Gunneswaran over the last 20 months. In 2017, as the Indian was tip-toeing around the Futures circuit, he won an event at Kunshan.
The 27 ranking points he won helped him break the top 250 barrier a few weeks later. In April 2018, he beat Yibing Wu 6-4, 6-2 in a deciding fifth rubber in an Asia-Oceania Davis Cup tie. Later that month, he upset three higher-ranked players en route a title at the Anning Challenger, his first at that level. The 125 points he earned there put him inside the top 180 for the first time.
A year later and Anning has again given him a reason to smile. Even though he failed to defend his first Challenger title — he lost in the final to Brit Jay Clarke on Sunday — his run has ensured that he will make the cut at Wimbledon. It’s for this reason that the Indian is all smiles when you ask him whether he felt the pressure of defending that many points for the first time.
“There was some pressure but not because I won here last year,” he told this daily after the final against Clarke. “But, going into the tournament I knew that if I did well here I could qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon. From that aspect, yes, I was itching to do well.” With an appearance at the French Open as well as at SW19 confirmed, does he think he has exceeded expectations this season? “I should be pretty close for qualifying for the US Open too,” he said. “If I don’t have a disastrous next couple of months, I should make the main draw cut for US Open.”
His belief isn’t misplaced. In the first six months of 2018, he made 255 points. This year he already has 255 points in the bank, with more opportunities to rise up the ranking charts in the next few charts — his upcoming tournaments include Munich and Lyon (both ATP 250s) before the French Open.
Even if he does have an end of year ranking goal in mind, he is quick to say the process is more important for him. “Being inside the top 40 in six months time would be good but that is not going to be my main focus point. I am just going to be focussed on matches and that (the rankings) will take care of itself.”
Considering that approach has put him in good stead so far, don’t bet against it.