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Patna : World No 97 Prajnesh Gunneswaran, 29, India, entered the Round of 32 of ATP Indian Wells Masters at California, USA, on March 10, 2019, beating World No 18 Nikoloz Basilashvili, 27, Georgia, in the second round causing a major upset in the tournament. This was Gunneswaran’s first victory over a Top 20 player. He will face World No 89 Ivo Karlovic, 40, Croatia, in the Round of 32.
Gunneswaran, a qualifier, defeated Basilashvili in a tough three-set contest 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 in the 2nd round. Both the players fired 10 Aces each in the match. Basilashvili, however, committed 11 double faults to just 1 by Gunneswaran. Gunneswaran broke Basilashvili’s service thrice while the latter broke his service twice. He won 3 games in a row in the match to 2 by Basilashvili. Gunneswaran’s winning percentage both on his first and second serve (75% & 63%) was better than that of Basilashvili (73% & 60%).