The 2018 Kunming Open in Anning, a relatively low-key Challenger event on the ATP circuit in China, was the springboard to Prajnesh Gunneswaran's incredible surge.
The southpaw clinched his maiden Challenger title in Anning last April, a triumph that would kickstart a rich run of form and rewards as he ended the year inside the top 100 and as India's highest-ranked singles player.
Back on the clay courts that he made his own last season, Prajnesh faltered in the final hurdle this time, the world No. 80 Indian going down to Jay Clarke of Britain, ranked 211th, 6-4 6-3 in the title clash in Anning on Sunday.
It was the first time Prajnesh had to defend a title at this level, and he admitted the pressure goes up a few notches while carrying the 'defending champion' tag.
"It's never easy defending a title," Prajnesh told DNA on Sunday after his final loss. "It's the first time for me, and it felt pretty different. There was a lot more pressure and expectations on me. I felt I did a good job of getting through to the final and defending a whole lot of points on the way."
Apart from defending most of his ranking points from last year, the final run also ensured that Prajnesh secured a direct entry into the main draw of the 2019 Wimbledon, a goal he had set before entering the tournament.
"Really happy about that," Prajnesh said.
"My short-term goal was to get into the Wimbledon, and I've done that. Obviously, I would've liked to win the title as well, but I still feel it was a good week for me overall. I just have to keep moving forward now," he added.
The 29-year-old, who is set to rise to a new career-high of world No. 75 when the latest ATP rankings come out on Monday, did not drop a set till the semifinals. However, a topsy-turvy, hard-fought 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 6-4 victory over Kamil Majchrzak of Poland in the last four on Saturday had an after-effect on Prajnesh a day later in the final.
"It was a very tough semifinal, and it's not easy to recover from a really long match like that. Had I wrapped up the semis in the second set (Prajnesh was 3-0 up), maybe things would've been different (in the final).
"The energy levels catch up with you. I felt I needed to play better in the final or find a gear to battle through, but it didn't happen," Prajnesh said.
