French Open 2018: India's Prajnesh Gunneswaran one win away from main draw after reaching final round of qualifiers

Paris: India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran inched closer to his maiden appearance at a Grand Slam by moving to the final round of the French Open qualifiers with a straight set win over 32nd seed Marcelo Arevalo, in Paris on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_4480381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Indian tennis player Prajnesh Gunneswaran. AFP[/caption] The Indian Davis Cupper knocked out his 146th-ranked opponent, 6-4 6-1 in the second in just 68 minutes. The Indian left-hander will next take on the winner of the other second round match between 13th seed Elias Ymer and Facundo Bagnis. Yuki Bhambri has earned a direct entry into the main draw, courtesy his place in the top-100. On Tuesday, India’s Ankita Raina had crashed out of the the French Open qualifiers with a 3-6, 6-7 defeat at the hands of Evgeniya Rodina of Russia. After losing the first set, Ankita came back strongly against her 10th seeded opponent and took the second to the tie-breaker which she eventually lost. The contest lasted one hour and 41 minutes. On Monday, Sumit Nagal lost to 10th seed Slovakian Martin Klizan 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the men’s singles first round. Ramkumar, who was seeded 12th lost to World No 225 Jay Clarke 3-6, 7-5, 1-6 in an hour and 51 minutes. The main draw of the tournament will be held from 27 May to 10 June.