India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran finished runner-up at the Orlando Open after losing the final of the ATP Challenger event to American Brandon Nakashima. Gunneswaran lost 3-6, 4-6 in the $52,080 hard court tournament.
Gunneswaran, 31, had eight changes to break Nakashima but he could convert none of them. This is the second consecutive time that Gunneswaran has finished runner-up, having reached final of the Cary Challenger last week.
The result helped Prajnesh to move to 128 from 137 on the ATP Tour rankings. He had earlier risen to the number one spot among Indian male singles players after reaching the final, displacing Sumit Nagal.
Nakashima, meanwhile, at the age of 19 is the youngest American to win a Challenger title since Francis Tiafoe in 2017.