Prajnesh Gunneswaran thread

[jayakris]

Prajnesh just can't seem to get anything moving. Wonder what happened to him?

[PKBasu]

Sadly, I think it's just age catching up with him. He will be 32 on 12 November -- not too old in the Big Three era, but the sort of age at which Ramesh Krishnan, Somdev, etc reduced their professional commitments.
Had Covid not intervened, last year might have been his best year, he could have settled into the top-75 and his career would have taken a different trajectory. But the Covid disruption was probably fatal to his career, because the break clearly hurt his game and he hasn't been able to raise his quality of play back to pre-Covid levels.

[Sanjay]

Sadly, I think it's just age catching up with him. He will be 32 on 12 November -- not too old in the Big Three era, but the sort of age at which Ramesh Krishnan, Somdev, etc reduced their professional commitments.
Had Covid not intervened, last year might have been his best year, he could have settled into the top-75 and his career would have taken a different trajectory. But the Covid disruption was probably fatal to his career, because the break clearly hurt his game and he hasn't been able to raise his quality of play back to pre-Covid levels.

The other thing is that he also got married about a year ago. Life priorities change. I see that in myself as well. I used to be so focused in my work but as the kids get older, I more enjoy taking them out for their events and even waiting in the car for them. Beats sitting in a work meeting.

He's mentally probably moved on to the next phase of life and that does not involve pro tennis. He may start an academy like my hometown boy P Srinath.

[jayakris]

The other thing is that he also got married about a year ago. Life priorities change. I see that in myself as well. I used to be so focused in my work but as the kids get older, I more enjoy taking them out for their events and even waiting in the car for them. Beats sitting in a work meeting.

He's mentally probably moved on to the next phase of life and that does not involve pro tennis. He may start an academy like my hometown boy P Srinath.

I also believe that this is the situation. When he got married, my first thought was about this. That there was at least a 75% chance that he wouldn't get back to what he was before. There is nothing so wrong or unusual in it, and it is certainly not deliberate on his part. But it happens, and was bound to happen in his case. On the deliberate items like practice and physical training, he may be doing everything the same... but mentally, even on court, it is not the same.

Previously, facing a loss, the thought was
"F***, I am screwing myself, losing like this. I will have nothing left in my life/career, if I lose now"....
Now it is,
"F***, I can't mess up my life/family, losing like this. I will need to think what I can do with what I have, if I lose now".

The latter thought will evoke a less focused response, and less accuracy when you hit that crosscourt shot at 5-6 15-15 in the third set. That is, I figure being lonely on the tour works better for many (most?) players. So, there...

Thus speaketh Guru JayakrishnaTennisAnanda [as always, pontificating on tennis, having never played the game]

[prasen9]

Maybe. But, age is a strong factor. At least for those who cannot hire the army of fitness trainers and nutritionists, etc. a la Federer, Nadal, etc. And, were not that much a freak of nature anyway. So, the margin is smaller.

[sameerph]

Prajnesh is back on circuit after more than 1 month's break and has a tough match in first round at Charlottsville.

At Charlottsville Challenger 80, USA

[R1] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,184) vs. (2) Taro Daniels (JPN,125)

[Sanjay]

Nice win today over a much higher opponent! (and 2nd seed)

[jayakris]

Yep. Huge comeback win for Prajnesh! At Charlottsville Challenger 80, USA

[R1] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,184) d. (2) Taro Daniels (JPN,125), 67(2) 76(5) 62

He plays Peter Polanski (CAN,279) or qualifier Inaki Montes-De La Torre (ESP,979) next.

[Rajiv]

Superb win by Prajnesh, nice victory by any Indian player after a long time.
This break in Tennis which he took after the DC seems to have helped him.
Hope he can go deep in this tournament.

[PKBasu]

Very nice win over the second seed. Good to see Prajnesh getting back on track in a tough US Challenger. Beating the second seed should have opened up the draw for him, but he may next face PR-Polansky, who has a career-high ranking of 110. Still a match that PG should win on his renewed momentum. They have played each other twice -- Prajnesh winning 62 62 last year at the Cary Challenger, and Polansky winning 63 64 at this year's Lexington Challenger. Of course Polansky must first win his R1 match against the qualifier!

[sameerph]

Excellent win by Prajnesh. His best win since his win over James Duckworth in March. Prajnesh has big 96 points to defend this month. So, he needs some good points from this US challenger series.

[Dinesh]

Yep. Huge comeback win for Prajnesh! At Charlottsville Challenger 80, USA

[R1] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,184) d. (2) Taro Daniels (JPN,125), 67(2) 76(5) 62

He plays Peter Polanski (CAN,279) or qualifier Inaki Montes-De La Torre (ESP,979) next.

Inaki Montes defeated veteran Peter Polansky 7-6 in the decider. Inaki is a sophomore at the UVA Charlottesville, so I presume playing in a facility he is familiar with and having the crowd support is motivating him. Hope Prajnesh capitalizes on his experience to stop him tomorrow.

[Dinesh]

Prajnesh prevails 6-1 7-5. Faces Brayden Schnur in the QF. H2H 4-0 in favor of Prajnesh. Their last encounter was at the USO which Prajnesh won in straight sets.

[jayakris]

Go Prajnesh! Finally a couple of wins!... Yep.

[PKBasu]

[R2] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND, 184) d. Q-Inaki Montes-de la Torre (ESP, 979) 61 75

Nice and easy win. He plays Brayden Schnur (CAN, 243) in the QF. PG has a 2-0 career record against Schnur, beating him in straight sets at Bangalore in 2018, and also in the last-16 at the Nursultan Challenger earlier this year 36 63 60.