Prajnesh enters main draw

New Delhi, March 20 

Prajnesh Gunneswaran entered the main draw of the Miami Open after a straight-set win over Britain's Jay Clarke in the second qualifying round today.

The 29-year-old 12th seed was made to work hard by the 20-year-old Clarke before he prevailed 6-4 6-4 in one and a half hours. World No. 84 Gunneswaran converted two of the seven breakpoints he earned while saving both the break opportunities his world No. 196 opponent got.

Don’t play safe, Zeeshan’s advice to Prajnesh

With age not on his side, Gunneswaran must avoid the trap of playing safe on the Challenger circuit to defend points and should go full throttle in search of wins at the big tournaments, suggested India’s Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali.

“Prajnesh  has to keep making bold and tough choices to get himself in a position where getting main draw entries in the big events are guaranteed,” said Ali.

“The only way to make large jumps in the rankings is to do well in the bigger events. A lot of players sometimes make the mistake of playing safe and protecting their ranking and points by playing smaller tournaments,” he said. — Agencies