Indian No.2 Prajnesh Gunneswaran spoke to ITD Volunteer after the finals against Fernando Verdasco to share his views on the match.
Prajnesh lost the finals with a scoreline of 64 36 67 at the ATP Challenger in Monterrey, Mexico.
Thoughts on the match
I had the momentum for maybe a set and a half. At around 3-3 in the 2nd set, I had a dip in intensity with few errors here and there which gave him the opportunity to leap ahead with 2 breaks in a row from 3-4 in the 2nd set to a break up in the 3rd set.
I kept fighting from then on and found a way to get back right at the end of the 3rd set. Then at 6-5 0-30 up, I wish I had made that forehand on the run. I could have made that shot if I were a bit alert. Because if I had that point, with a 0-40 scoreline, it could have been a different scenario.
Key moments in the match
1st game in the 3rd set and that 0-30 moment in set 3 at 6-5 up – both were key moments. I had a few break points in the 2nd set which I did not capitalise as well.
I didn’t play close enough to the level that I should have on those points.
Anything that you would have changed in how you approached this match?
Probably could have focused better but I also haven’t been playing this high calibre of tennis for a while and so probably it is asking a bit too much to get that intensity throughout right at the initial instance.
Overall I think I played well enough considering the leadup and the preparation that I had. There are always going to be a couple of things to do better in every match but I think overall I am happy with my performance.
On the huge crowd support in Mexico
I had huge crowd support and it was amazing. The crowd was behind me the whole time. After I won the first set, there was really a lot of support. Towards the end, the crowd almost pushed me through to win the match!
At 5-5, Fernando even got upset with the crowd because when I broke back, the entire stadium was going crazy. He lost a bit of composure and played a couple of loose points at 6-5 to hand a 0-30 lead but then he regained composure. He was able to maintain composure better than me after that.
The stadium was packed and it was a really good experience to play in such a supportive crowd.
