French Open 2018: Prajnesh Gunneswaran upsets 32nd seed to enter final round of qualifying

India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran put up a masterful display to upset the 32nd seed and World No. 146 Marcelo Arevalo on his way to the final round of qualifying at the French Open 2018 in Paris on Wednesday. Gunneswaran needed 1 hour 8 minutes to notch up a dominant 6-4, 6-1 win.

In his quest for a maiden appearance in the main draw of a Major, the 28-year-old will take on the 13th seeded Elias Ymer, who had to battle for three sets to notch up a 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2 victory over Facundo Bagnis.

If the southpaw can win, it will make him the second Indian in the men’s singles draw at Roland Garros this year, with the 94th ranked Yuki Bhambri being the other one.

Gunneswaran produced 18 winners against just unforced errors in this second round match. He managed to convert five out of the 10 break point opportunities that he got.

In contrast, Arevalo could earn only one service break. His high count of errors did not help him at all, having produced 23 unforced errors against just 14 winners.

After conceding his serve once in the first set, the Indian was pretty much flawless in the second and did not face even a single break point.

The World No. 183 has been enjoying a great run of form lately. He was India’s Davis Cup hero last month when he outplayed the reigning US Open junior champion Yibing Wu of China in the fifth and final rubber to seal India’s place in the World Group play-offs.

He then rode on that confidence to win his maiden ATP Challenger title at Kunming. Thanks to that success, his ranking shot up to a career-high 175th.

Earlier, Sumit Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Ankita Raina had all crashed out in the first round of qualifying. The 25-year-old Raina was the only Indian in the women’s singles draw and was making her Grand Slam debut.