NEW DELHI (India): India’s Prajnesh Gunnewaran on Saturday advanced into the Australian Open men’s singles main draw as a lucky loser.
The 30-year-old is likely to run into world number two Novak Djokovic, if he clears the first hurdle.
“I am very happy that I got the lucky loser spot. I am only thinking about my first round now. I will try to make the most of it. I will need to play well to beat Ito,” Prajnesh was quoted as saying by India’s news agency PTI.
The left-hander had lost the final qualifying round to Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis in straight sets, but was fortunate to make the main draw as one of the direct entrants withdrew from the tournament.
It will be Prajnesh’s fifth straight appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam.
Last year, the Chennai-based player had come through the qualifiers in Melbourne but made the cut at Wimbledon, French Open and the US Open owing to better ranking.
A good draw has put Prajnesh against Japanese Tatsuma Ito, ranked 22 places below the Indian at 144.
This will be the first meeting of the duo, and Prajnesh now not only has the opportunity to win his maiden Grand Slam main draw match but also to set up a showdown with Serbian great Djokovic.
