The World no. 107, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, began his qualifying campaign by beating Serbia's Viktor Galovic in straight sets. He continued his fine run of form, trouncing his Spaniard opponent in round two to move into the final qualifying round. In the final round, he overcame a spirited challenge from Japanese Yosuke Watanuki in three close sets and secured a place in the main draw of the Australian Open.
The 29-year-old was close to making it to his first Grand Slam last year itself when, as a lucky loser, he got a late call to enter the main draw of the French Open after a series of withdrawals. But, by then, he had already left Paris to play a Challenger event in Italy.
Gunneswaran had his best-ever season last year in which he won a couple of ATP Challenger titles and became the new top-ranked player from India.