Moutet Topples Home Hope Shevchenko

Alexander Shevchenko produced a masterful victory in his opening-round match against Laslo Djere inside the Almaty Arena on Tuesday night. A day later, the crowd favourite could not continue his winning ways against 8th-seeded Courentin Moutet.
 
The inspired Frenchman rallied from a double-break down in the opening set, then controlled proceedings in the second set to log a 7-5, 6-3 victory and improve to 2-0 at ATP level against Shevchenko. Moutet, who will face either Karen Khachanov or Jan-Lennard Struff in the quarterfinals on Friday in Almaty, is now 4-0 against the Kazakh at all levels.
 
«I had played against him three times before,» Moutet said on court after his 28th win of the season. «He’s a good friend, so I have a lot of respect for him. The tactic was to be aggressive, to move him, because he plays very, very fast.»
 
Moutet’s 28 wins on the season are double the amount that he has produced in any other season on tour. He says staying healthy makes all the difference.
 
«The difference is that this year I wasn’t injured,» he said. «We worked very hard with my team. It was frustrating because the last few years I couldn’t play a full year… I was sure that if I avoided injury, because I’m very serious and dedicated to the sport, I would have a great year.»
 
Mochizuki, Michelsen, Struff Start Strong in Almaty
 
Shintaro Mochizuki lost to Arthur Cazaux in the semifinals of the Jinan Challenger last week in China, so when he saw his name next to the Frenchman’s in the draw he was excited to get another shot.
 
He made the most of it in Wednesday’s first match on Center Court, forging his way to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over the world No.58 to move up to No.99 in the live rankings, which means a Top 100 debut could be coming for the former junior No.1.
 
Mochizuki, 22, will face fourth-seeded Luciano Darderi in the second round tomorrow in Almaty.
 
He racked 24 winners against 21 unforced errors, winning 18 of 23 net points and saving both break points he faced, while notching a single break in each set to earn his third ATP-level win of the season.
 
Alex Michelsen also won on his Almaty debut, taking out local wild card Beibit Zhukayev, 6-2, 6-3 to set a second-round clash with Aleksandar Vukic of Australia.
 
Zhukayev, a quarterfinalist here last year, made waves in the second set when he broke Michelsen to get back on serve in the sixth game, but the sixth-seeded American was too tough in the end, as he raced through the final three games. 
 
21-year-old Michelsen snapped a five-match losing streak in the process.
 
«Super happy to get the win, and super happy to be in Almaty for the first time,» Michelsen said on court after the win.
 
On Court 1, 35-year-old Jan-Lennard Struff rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Mackenzie McDonald to set a second-round clash with defending champion Karen Khachanov on Thursday.
 
The victory was Struff’s second over McDonald in three months.
 
«He's an amazing player, and it was a very tough match,» Struff said. «I was very happy that I was able to come back after the first set and save break points the first game [of the second set]. Then I managed to find a good rhythm. I served at a high percentage today, which was very important here in altitude.»
 
Last year’s runner-up Gabriel Diallo was sent packing by Aussie qualifier James Duckworth in the second match on Court 1. The pair split two tiebreaks in a back-and-forth battle before Duckworth finally broke through in the deciding set to score the upset, 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-4.
 
Diallo saved the first five break points he faced in the third set but he could not hold off the world No.138, who converted his sixth to take a 4-3 lead and held serve the rest of the way to lock down victory in two hours and 32 minutes.
 
In the final match on Court 1, third-seeded Italian Flavio Cobolli had a successful debut, defeating Rinky Hijikata, 6-4, 7-5. Cobolli’s win sets a quarterfinal clash with Duckworth on Friday.
 
Fabian Marozsan closed out the night session in Almaty with a 7-6(5), 6-1 victory over fifth-seeded American Brandon Nakashima. The 52nd-ranked Hungarian has yet to drop a set and will have a day off before he faces the winner of Daniil Medvedev’s second-round clash with Aussie Adam Walton.
 
Marozsan never faced a break point as he powered through the one hour and 29-minute encounter. He struck 30 winners to just 14 for his opponent, and broke Nakashima’s serve three times.
 
«I think everything worked so good today, I had a great day,» Marozsan said. «The first set was really tough – I’m looking forward to the next one and I just want to enjoy the tournament here.»