Zhukayev ready for first ATP match in Astana

Ravi Ubha

Some players avoid looking past their first opponent when draws are made. Others like to peer deeper.

Beibit Zhukayev had a good look at the entire draw at the Astana Open — he had no choice since he attended Saturday’s draw ceremony — and gained extra motivation when he saw who he could face in the second round.

It was none other than Novak Djokovic, the 21-time Grand Slam winner and a fellow wildcard.

For his dream matchup to materialize, Zhukayev needs to beat 35th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp and Djokovic must defeat Cristian Garin.

«I will try to beat Botic,» said Zhukayev, about two weeks shy of his 22nd birthday. «If I beat him, I will play, potentially, Novak Djokovic. I want to face him. If I will play him, it will be amazing.»

But Zhukayev already had plenty of incentive heading into the new ATP 500 event in Kazakhstan’s capital. He is contesting his first ATP tournament and meets a top-100 opponent for the first time. He also has plenty of confidence, having seen his ranking climb more than 400 spots from 728th at the start of the season to its current 326th. Zhukayev — a towering 6-foot-5 (196cm) — reached his initial two Challenger semifinals this year, including as a wildcard in Astana in July. He fell to Denis Yevseyev, though beat his countryman in late September at a national event to help him land the coveted wildcard this week.

In his previous tournament in September, Zhukayev drew confidence from stretching ATP title winner Radu Albot to a third-set tiebreak in the quarterfinals of a Challenger in Istanbul, thumping 21 aces. The Moldovian proceeded to win the title and thus returned to the top 100.

Zhukayev isn’t far off his 2022 goal of cracking the top 200.

«This season, for me, is the best in my career so far,» said Zhukayev, who practiced with national men’s No. 1 Alexander Bublik on Saturday. «At the beginning I started playing well. And I continued playing a lot of tournaments and that’s why I think I’m here right now. I’ve had some good experience at tournaments.

«I beat some good players. I found my game, I think. I was serving good, playing solid from the baseline. I think winning is giving me some good confidence.»

He has climbed the ladder without having a full-time coach. Zhukayev worked with Yuri Schukin the first half of this year and still gets help from the former world No. 119 who was the first men’s player representing Kazakhstan to hold a ranking in 1997. His brother, Meirambek Tatiyev, helps, too, on occasion.

«Now it’s fine for me,» said Zhukayev. «I played my best results without a coach. But in the future for sure I will need someone to help me. I think it’s better to have someone for sure.»

To that end, Zhukayev is thinking of relocating to an academy in Europe or the US. He grew up on the west coast of Kazakhstan in Aktau but found tennis in Antalya, Turkey. Holidaying with his uncle in, he suspected, 2008, Zhukayev saw tennis courts and decided to give the sport a try. Facilities were hard to come by in Aktau and so Zhukayev spent «four or five» years in Almaty. He is appreciative of the help from Kazakhstan’s tennis federation. Growing up, he watched individual matches of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, and one match that he vividly recalls is the pair’s nailbiter in the final of the 2017 Australian Open, won by the Swiss in five sets.

Backed by his home fans, Zhukayev is hoping indeed to meet the other member of the Big Three this week.

«I really like to play in Kazakhstan,» said Zhukayev. «It’s my country. I have everything here, like best supporters ever, my family here, fans here. I will try my best.»