Prajnesh Gunneswaran knocked out of Stuttgart Open, misses out on a face-off with Roger Federer
Prajnesh Gunneswaran's ambitious run to face Roger Federer ATP Mercedes Cup came to an end as he was ousted in his second round clash by Argentina's Guido Pella in Stuttgart on Thursday. After stunning World number 23 Denis Shapovalov in the opening round, Gunneswaran lost to world number 75.
Gunneswaran had a good startĀ at the Stuttgart Open after heĀ defeated Shapovalov in the first round of the tournament. However,Ā it soon came to a shuddering haltĀ in the second round by world number 75, Guido Pella, who outplayed the Indian ace lost 6-7(4) 4-6 to Pella on Thursday.
The Indian left-hander, playing his maiden ATP World Tour event, saved four of the five break points but could convert none of the two chances he got in the one hour and 29-minute contest.
"I played ok but not as good as I needed to. He was very solid and got me to make more errors than I should have. I needed to be a bit more clinical in putting away the shorter balls. I did not do that well enough and it made it difficult for me to win," the 169th-ranked Prajnesh told PTI from Stuttgart.
If Gunneswaran would have won his tie, then, he would have faced Roger Federer, who has made his return afterĀ three months, in the next round. When asked about the missed chance to play against the 20-time Grand Slam champion, he stated that he was not very disappointed.
"It does not matter. If it comes later, it does, if it does not, it does not. I am not too bothered about that. Overall it is a very good experience for me. I understood what I need to do and what I need to improve to be at this stage," he said.
He picked up 32 ranking points, including 12 from qualifying, and earned euro 11,210 for his effort.
