Updated 14:47 IST, January 18th 2020
Prajnesh Gunneswaran qualifies for Australian Open main draw, could face Novak Djokovic
India's number one men's singles player qualified for the main draw even though he lost the qualifiers in the final round as a 'lucky loser'
India's number one men's tennis player Prajnesh Gunneswaran qualified for the Australian Open main draw as a 'lucky loser' on Saturday. Gunneswaran will face Tatsuma Ito of Japan on Monday in the opening round of fixtures.
Gunneswaran qualifies
Gunneswaran lost to Ernests Gulbis in the finals of the qualifiers 7(7)-6(3)-6-2 on Friday and was knocked out of the competition. The Tamil Nadu based player had defeated Australia's Harry Bourchier and Germany's Yannick Hanfmann in the first two qualifying rounds.
Gunneswaran remains the only Indian in the men's singles draw at the inaugural Grand Slam of the year after two other contenders, Sumit Nagal and Ramkumar Ramanathan both lost in the first round of the qualifiers.
If Gunneswaran defeats Ito, he could face world number two and defending and seven-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in the second round, who will be playing later on Monday.
Ranked 122 in the world, Gunneswaran made his grand slam debut in Melbourne last year. he went on to play in all four slams, but was eliminated in the first round in each one of them.
Published 14:47 IST, January 18th 2020