Pune Challenger: Indian hopes pinned on Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Sasikumar Mukund

From the point of view of Indian fans, the last Challenger tournament of the year hasn't panned out as expected.

Arjun Kadhe removed his fellow countryman Ramkumar Ramanathan, who was favored to reach the finals and seeded second. Sasikumar Mukund, meanwhile, ousted the much higher ranked Saketh Myneni.

With that, two out of India's three best players were knocked out by their compatriots. Sumit Nagal lost out to the top-seeded Moldovan, Radu Albot. But one of India's most complete players, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, gave the home fans some solace.

Chennai-borns carry Indian hopes

Prajnesh is India's best bet for a title at Pune this year. He has arguably been the most promising Indian player on the tennis circuit in 2018; from being ranked outside the top 250 at the end of last year he has now surged up to 110th, ending this year as the Indian No.1.

Although Yuki Bhambri pulled out of the last few Challengers, which hurt his ranking, no one can deny that it has been a sensational climb for Prajnesh. He won the Bengaluru Open last week, which pushed him above Bhambri. Apart from that, he has reached a semifinal and final in the past month.

Before the Bangalore victory, the Chennai-born didn't have a great outing in Shenzen, where he exited in the first round of the Challenger in which he was seeded 4th. But a successful campaign in Pune will see him go above the 96th-ranked Marcel Granollers.

Prajnesh is probably the favorite in his encounter against Aleksandr Nedovyesov, and probably one of the favourites to win the tournament.

Sasikumar Mukund on his part went on to score an even bigger victory after his upset over Myneni. Facing the 6th-seeded Jay Clarke in the Round of 16, he was under pressure when he lost the first set. But he took it on his chin and went on to clinch the second 6-4.

Mukund got an early break in the decider and was leading 4-1. Injury played spoilsport then in what was otherwise a great contest, as the Englishman couldn't finish the match. However, the result is still an excellent achievement for the Hyderabad resident.

Mukund has reached the quarters in his last two Challenger appearances but has failed to go further. He would be hoping that it'll be third time lucky, but facing a player like Albot, it will be very tough.

The Moldovan is more than 150 places ahead of the Chennai native in the rankings, reinforcing the vast difference in quality between them. But the form Mukund is in gives him a glimmer of hope to progress further.

A victory for Mukund against Albot will not only help him move closer to the top 300, it will also pave the way for an all-Indian semifinal. In that case, Prajnesh would be the expected finalist, considering the No.1 seed would be out of the way.

The only probable player standing between him and the title will be Elias Ymer. But even if Albot gets through, Prajnesh might have just enough in him at the end of the grueling season to pull off a win.

Whatever happens in the Pune Challenger, one thing is certain: the future of Indian tennis looks brighter than it did a year ago. Needless to say, it's an exciting time for the growing tennis fan base in India.