Tennis Tennis Australian Open: Prajnesh Gunneswaran qualifies for main draw The Indian, who was seeded sixth in the qualifiers, beat Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4 in the third qualifier. Team Sportstar CHENNAI 11 January, 2019 09:33 IST The Australian Open will be Prajnesh Gunneswaran's first Grand Slam main draw appearance. - V. Sreenivasa Murthy Team Sportstar CHENNAI 11 January, 2019 09:33 IST India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran got the better of Japan's Yosuke Watanuki 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4 in the third round of the Australian Open qualifiers to advance to the main draw. This will be his maiden main draw appearance in a Grand Slam. Prajnesh will be up against Frances Tiafoe in the first round.The 112-ranked Prajnesh prevailed in the third qualifier match that lasted two hours and 10 minutes. The Indian started on a horrid note, losing the first set in a tie-breaker but he bounced back well to win the next two sets with an identical margin. In 2018, Prajnesh qualified for the main draw of French Open as the lucky loser, but he could not participate as he had already registered to play a Challenger tournament in Paris.Earlier, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Ankita Raina lost their respective third round qualifiers. Support Sportstar Dear Reader, Support our journalism — where text and pictures intermingle so seamlessly — and help us scale up your experience as the world changes around us. Your contribution is vital to our brand of uninfluenced, boots-on-the-ground reportage that’s worth your while. Clickbait sensationalism is not for us, but editorial independence is — we owe it to you. Support Quality Journalism Subscribe to our daily newsletter Get your daily dose of Sportstar with handpicked stories delivered right to your inbox! SUBSCRIBE Please enter a valid email address. Dugout videos