European Masters and ATP Tournaments 2019

[PKBasu]

Prajnesh (seeded 2 in the qualifiers) plays an Austrian wildcard in Q1 of the Munich ATP, but is drawn to play Denis Istomin in the Second/final qualifying round.

[jaydeep]

In the doubles, Rohan and Divij r facing each other with their respective partners ... Lee is playing Benoit and facing a pairing of Puetz and Nielsen.

At € 586K BMW Open Banc by FWU 2019, Munich, Germany

[Q1] (2) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,75) bt (WC) Alexander Erler (AUT,615) 36 76(5) 75

[Q2] (2) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,75) vs (8) Denis Istomin (UZB,106)

Doubles
[R1] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Dominic Inglot (GBR) vs Marcelo Demoliner (BRA)/ Divij Sharan (IND)
[R1] Leander Paes (IND)/ Benoit Paire (FRA) vs Frederik Nielsen (DEN)/ Tim Puetz (GER)

[PKBasu]

Prajnesh won the first set 6-4 against Istomin, but is down 2-4 in the second.

[jayakris]

Prajnesh had a pretty even match till 4-4 in the first set against Istomin, with both guys having saved one BP each. Then, after Istomin saved two more BPs from 15-40, our man forced a 4th BP at AD out and got the break. Love game from Prajnesh and he is up 6-4, 0-0!

After they saved one more BP each in the 3rd and 4th games, and it is 6-4, 2-2 ... The match tightens after the 3rd game after a few games dominated by GPP... He saved two BPs from 15-40 and fell at AD out, 6-4 2-4 ... And it goes downhill in a hurry with an easy service game from Istomin and another drop of serve by GPP. Now it is all even at 64 26 00 ...

61 points to Prajnesh and 60 to Istomin so far. Late flurry in the first set by Prajnesh was matched by a similar one by Istomin in the second set.

Argh... Not going well. Prajnesh drops serve for a third time in a row, to fall 64 26 02 and Istomin running away with it now.... 0-3 in the third. Now 1-3. A couple more aces from DI, and a hold from GPP 2-4... And Prajnesh drops serve once more to finish the agony. He just didn't have much left in the tank after mid-way through the second set, as he dropped serve in 4 of the next 6 service games and forced no more BPs on Istomin

At € 586K BMW Open Banc by FWU 2019, Munich, Germany

[Q2] (2) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,75) l. (8) Denis Istomin (UZB,106), 64 26 26

[sameerph]

As per report from Vishnu, Praj is having some shoulder niggle due to which he is serving at half tilt. He is contemplating taking a couple of weeks break now before FO. Istomin too played very well from middle of second set.

[PKBasu]

Pity about the shoulder niggle. I was hoping Prajnesh could stick around Munich in case a Lucky Loser spot opened up -- or perhaps even an opportunity to play doubles if someone pulls out.

[jaydeep]

Divij and Demoliner started with an upset win over the top-seeds Rohan and Inglot in the match tie-break.

At € 586K BMW Open Banc by FWU 2019, Munich, Germany

[R1] Marcelo Demoliner (BRA)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Dominic Inglot (GBR) 63 36 12-10

[PKBasu]

Rohan should be regretting ending the partnership with Divij so abruptly...

[PKBasu]

Paire pulled out of the doubles because of injury, so Paes is out too.

[jayakris]

Rohan should be regretting ending the partnership with Divij so abruptly...

I don't know if he is regretting but we all felt that they pulled the plug too soon. They weren't doing well like expected, but they should have tried a bit longer. But then again, these guys are so experienced in doubles that they can sometime sense it when the skills are not actually complementing each other. It can happen. If they split because their tennis sense said it was better to split, then I will leave it to their judgment. If not, well....

[jaydeep]

Divij and Demoliner scored a comeback win over a local German pair after losing the first set ... In the semis, they r facing Oswald and Pavic.

At € 586K BMW Open Banc by FWU 2019, Munich, Germany

[QF] Marcelo Demoliner (BRA)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt Kevin Krawietz (GER)/ Andreas Mies (GER) 46 63 10-8

[SF] Marcelo Demoliner (BRA)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Philipp Oswald (AUT)/ Mate Pavic (CRO)

[Omkara]

This is good. Very very good. Much needed

[arjun2761]

Yes, good results for Divij and Marco. Divij is now tied on points with Rohan in the live doubles rankings...

[Dinesh]

As per report from Vishnu, Praj is having some shoulder niggle due to which he is serving at half tilt. He is contemplating taking a couple of weeks break now before FO. Istomin too played very well from middle of second set.

Yes, Prajnesh made it to the Q list at the Madrid Masters but withdrew. He is currently in the Q list of Lyon ATP - hopefully, he will play there and get some match practice.

[PKBasu]

Divij Sharan is the new India #1 in doubles, after he and Demoliner stormed into the Munich ATP final with a 63 36 10-4 victory over Oswald and Pavic in the SF.