Bhambri’s loss means no Indian in singles main draw

Yuki Bhambri suffered a straight-set defeat at the hands of Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac in the Australian Open Qualifiers second round here on Thursday, meaning no Indian would participate in the singles main draw of the year’s opening Grand Slam.

Making a comeback following a spate of injuries in the last two years, the 29-year-old Bhambri went down 1-6, 3-6 to Machac, who is ranked 130 in the world. Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan, who also competed in the men’s singles qualifiers, endured losses in the second and first round respectively. Meanwhile, Ankita Raina failed to cross the first hurdle in women’s singles qualifying.