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ESPN staff
Prajnesh Gunneswaran’s winning run at Indian Wells came to an end after he lost 3-6, 6-7 to world No. 89 Ivo Karlovic in the third round early on Tuesday.
The 6’11” Croat, who hit 16 aces on way to victory, will next meet Dominic Thiem.
Playing his first singles main draw at the Masters level, Prajnesh had earlier upset world No. 18 Nikoloz Basilashvili and France’s Benoit Paire at the tournament.
World No. 97 Prajnesh is now likely to rise up to at least 80th in the ATP rankings.
Earlier in the year — nine years after he made his professional debut — Prajnesh played in the main draw of the Australian Open, becoming the fifth Indian since the turn of the century to qualify for the men’s singles main draw at a Grand Slam.
Last year, he had beaten then world No. 23 Denis Shapovalov at the Stuttgart ATP 250 event — the biggest win of his career before this Indian Wells performance.