Prajnesh Beats Myneni to Lift Bengaluru Open Title

Bengaluru, Nov 17 (PTI) Prajnesh Gunneswaran outclassed compatriot Saketh Myneni in straight sets to win the USD 150000 Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger title here on Saturday.

In the all-Indian summit clash, Gunneswaran thrashed Myneni 6-2 6,2 under an hour to improve his ATP rankings from 144 to 110.

The Chennai lad did not allow Myneni to make a comeback in the entire match as he smashed heavy serves and forehands to neutralise his opponent.

Gunneswaran played with lot of confidence, unlike the last time he met Myneni in an ATP Challenger event.

"I knew it would be tough playing Prajnesh (Gunneswaran). Yes, I made far too many errors. Credit should go to Prajnesh, whom I found a tad confident in this match, compared to the last time I played where he was tentative," Myneni said in the post-match press conference.

More than anything else, Gunneswaran started off very strongly in both the sets which derailed the confidence of a tired looking Myneni.

"Saketh (Myneni) looked tired. Hence I said to myself that I should not give away and sustained pressure on him. From outside 6-2 6-2 wins looks easy, but it wasn't. The walkover in the quarterfinals also helped me save some energy coming into the finals," Gunneswaran said.

Though Myneni sent down four aces compared to Gunneswaran's two, the later won 57 points out of the total 97 while the former managed to win 40.

On the first serve points won, there was hardly any to differentiate between the two players, as Gunneswaran won 75 per cent while Myneni 73 per cent in the entire match.

But Myneni committed far too many unforced errors that ruined his day.

"It is very tough to play against left-handed players as they have heavier spin in their shots. Also many right-handed players are not used to left-handed players," Myneni said.

Myneni made a late surge in the second set after being down 0-40 in the fifth game. He saved breakpoint twice against Gunneswaran, but failed to hold hold on, eventually allowing his opponent to break and clinch the title.

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