Bengaluru, Feb 2 (Tennis News) Prajnesh Gunneswaran is keen to regain the Bengaluru Open title which he won in the 2018 as the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association gears up to host back-to-back ATP Challenger events starting Sunday with the qualifiers.

"I have great memories of Bengaluru. I practiced at the KSLTA for a fairly long period and I have had a good outing at the Challengers," Prajnesh said.

"I have many titles here and it is like a second home for me in India other than Chennai. I am looking forward to coming back to the City which is very familiar to me and winning would definitely add to my joy," said the 32-year-old in an interview from Pune.

Currently ranked 228 in the world, Prajnesh who got into the main draw of the Bengaluru Open on Tuesday, expects a stiff competition during the weeks to come.

"Definitely, it is going to be tough. I'm sure there a lot of good players, especially because it's right after Pune and then the two Challenges are in a row.

"So a lot of the higher ranked players end up staying, which is not necessarily good for the Indians, but it is good to have an event with quality players. It's always nice to watch and be a part of it," he said.

Prajnesh, who has two ATP Challenger titles and nine ITF titles to his credit, was not in the best of shape during last year which also saw COVID-19 curtailing most of the efforts of the players across the world.

"It was surely not a fun year. Just having visa was not enough as there were new updates about regulations and measures every week. I was difficult travelling which was hectic and stressful," said the southpaw.

"I have not had a great year in terms of my results as I have been carrying some injuries. I could not train much but over the last two months I have gotten past that and I am raring to go," said Prajnesh. 

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News Source : PTI