THE BIG STORY
Post his initiation into the Grand
Slam league, Indian tennis sensation
Prajnesh Gunneswaran tells Kayal
Thanigasalam about the time he
almost wrote off tennis and how he
bounced back, among other thingsndia’s top-ranked men’s
tennis player Prajnesh
Gunneswaran’s French
Open campaign ended
in the first round, but
after what the sportsman
has faced, he is happy
with where he reached.
Overcoming a career-
threatening knee injury,
from 2012 to 2014, the 29-year-old
persevered to give tennis one last
shot in 2015, and worked hard
to get back in the game. WhenAs they say, you win some, you
lose some.Which is your most memorable
tournament so far?
The Indian Wells 2019 has been
a tournament with my best result so far.
It is also the most memorable for me
since I beat a few of the top 25 players
like Nikoloz Basilashvili (world number
18) and Denis Shapovalov (world
number 23).Your injuries put you in the
backseat. You were almost on the
verge of quitting.
Injuries are a part of sports in general.
Mine happened to take away a lot of
my prime years, from age 22 to 24. It’s
unfortunate, but I believe you have
to cross the hurdles that show up in
your path and persevere if you want
to succeed.What is biggest risk you’ve taken
in your career?
Just sticking with tennis when I had
already lost nearly five years, and giving
it another shot. At that time, it almost
seemed like a certainty that I wouldn’t
be able to play any longer or that it was
too late. Making a conscious choice to
put everything else on the backseat and
continuing to chase my dream is my
biggest risk, and it paid off!Who would you would love to
play against?
I would love to play Roger (Federer),
Rafa (Rafael Nadal) and Novak
(Djokovic). In fact, playing
any of the legends would be an
incredible experience.GAME, SET,
MATCH
his spirit was broken, it was an SOS call
to his German trainer Christian Bosse,
which provided him the much-needed
push to get back to training. Earlier
this year he made his debut into the
main draw at a Grand Slam event,
the Australian Open. In February, he
reached a career high entering the top-
100 singles ranking. Currently, with the
highs from the The Indian Wells 2019
and the low of faring badly at The French
Open, he aims to break into the top 50.
Edited excerpts:You made it to the main draws
of a Grand Slam this year. Has it
been a good year so far?
I played some good matches and had
positive results. I’m happy with the way
I am progressing and look forward to
using this momentum to do even better.Despite the loss at The French
Open, what positives did you
take back?
I didn’t really have a good tournament.
It was, however, a milestone for me,
my first time at a Grand Slam main
draw. I take it as a part of the journey.I BELIEVE YOU HAVE
TO CROSS THE
HURDLES THAT SHOW
UP IN YOUR PATH
AND PERSEVERE