Ta-ta! Prajnesh gets the axe
Pune, February 6
India’s top ranked men’s singles player Prajnesh Gunneswaran crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals of the Tata Open Maharashtra after suffering a straight sets defeat against fourth seed Kwan Soon-woo of South Korea here today. Gunneswaran lost 3-6 6-7(5).
Paes to play in Bangalore Open
Bengaluru: Indian tennis legend Leander Paes today confirmed his participation in the Bangalore Open ATP Challenger, beginning here on February 10. Paes, who is into his farewell season, will be seen in action for one last time on home soil at the $162,000 event at the KSLTA. Paes is playing select tournaments during the year as a part of a farewell tour he is calling “One Last Roar”. “Playing at home in front of my fellow Indians has always been a source of immense pleasure and motivation for me. Bangalore has always had a crowd that understands tennis and the vibe of the stadium and the energy of the city really invigorates me,” said Paes, who is currently playing at the TATA Maharashtra ATP Tour event in Pune. The 46-year-old veteran has 54 ATP Tour doubles titles besides eight Grand Slam men’s doubles crowns and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.
After losing the first set, Gunneswaran put up a great fight in the second set. However, world No. 88 Soon-woo held his nerves in the tie-breaker to wrap up the match and a place in the last-8.
With Gunneswaran’s loss, India’s challenge came to an end in the singles event. Earlier, Sumit Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Sasikumar Mukund and Arjun Kadhe lost in the opening round. In the other singles last-16 match today, Australia’s James Duckworth held his nerves during a thrilling 6-7(4) 7-6(6) 6-3 win over Taro Daniel.
In the doubles event, Romain Arneodo and Andre Begemann caused a major upset as they knocked out top seeds Robin Haase and Robert Lindstedt with a 6-3 6-3 win to enter the semifinals.
Third seeds Jonathan Erlich and Andrei Vasilevski made their way into the last-4 with a 5-7 6-1 10-8 win over Stefano Travaglia and Paolo Lorenzi.
Rajpal to steer Indian ship
Rohit Rajpal will continue as India’s non-playing Davis Cup captain while veteran Leander Paes too has retained his place in the 6-member squad picked for the tie against Croatia next month.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has asked Rajpal to lead the side in the 2020 season. Rajpal had taken over as captain of the side last year when country’s top players and then captain Mahesh Bhupathi had refused to travel to Pakistan in November.
India are scheduled to travel to Croatia for their next tie on March 6 and 7. Rajpal, who is also the DLTA president, confirmed the development. “I have been informed that I will continue as captain for the 2020 season. I feel honoured that AITA has reposed faith in me,” Rajpal said. “I am happy with the way we came together for the Pakistan tie under difficult circumstances. We came together as one fighting machine. I am looking forward to working closely with the players for achieving greater heights,” he added.
Rajpal admitted that his real test has come now since the team is up against a formidable Croatia, who are packed with world-class performers. “I know they are the 2018 winners. This is a tough tie, they have home advantage but we can soak all the pressure and still beat any top team,” he said.
When countered that Indian players are struggling against players who are not even ranked in the top-50, Rajpal said, “These are not individual matches. The Davis Cup is different. With this Indian team, it will not be wise for any team to take us lightly.”
As expected, Gunneswaran has returned to the side after missing the Pakistan tie due to his marriage. Nagal and Ramanathan are the other singles players in the squad.
The AITA selection committee, headed by Balram Singh, chose three doubles players for the tie — Rohan Bopanna, Divij Sharan and Paes. The playing 5-member squad will be announced closer to the tie.
Both Bopanna and Sharan had not played against Pakistan. While Bopanna was injured, Sharan was busy with his wedding reception.
With both of them returning, the selection panel
has left out Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan. Both Nedunchezhiyan (105) and Purav Raja (91) are ranked above Paes in the ATP list.
“We could not have taken all, who played against Pakistan though they raised their hands up in the difficult situation. Leander is playing well, he just beat Divij (in Pune). The ranking was not the sole criteria,” Balram Singh said. — PTI
