Prajnesh in Oz Open Qualifiers second round

India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran knocked out third-seeded Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan from the Australian Open Qualifiers with a straight-set victory, here on Monday.

Ranked 221, the left-handed Prajnesh beat 119th-ranked Galan 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 13 minutes in the first round at Court No.6 of the Melbourne Park. “It was a pretty good match. It is a good start here. I returned really well. I look forward to continuing the momentum,” Prajnesh told PTI.

The Chennai-based player will next take on Germany’s Maximilian Marterer, who beat Nino Serdarusic of Croatia 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in his opening round fixture.