Rising German teen, Marozsan take to the court Monday at Almaty Open

Ravi Ubha

Playing in a first ATP tournament makes for an unforgettable experience and that is the position Justin Engel finds himself in this week at the Almaty Open.

One of three wildcards in the main draw, the 17-year-old German contests his first ATP match on Monday against another Next Genner, Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong.

Engel’s career high of 56 in the junior rankings is certainly impressive but might not provide an indication of future results.

Perhaps more relevantly, he has already won four professional titles in 2024.

When he won his first one in May in Austria aged 16, the ITF reported that he became the youngest German male to bag a pro title since Mischa Zverev — Alexander’s older brother — in 2003.

And he was the youngest from any nation since Italy’s Luca Nardi in 2020.

Potentially a good omen for Engel, Nardi collected his maiden ATP win in Kazakhstan in 2022.

But Wong is having a breakthrough season, seeing his ranking climb from 477 this time last year to around 130. 

He possesses a hefty serve and covers the court with aplomb, attributes that helped the 20-year-old win his first ATP match last month in Hangzhou and nearly upset Brandon Nakashima in the second round.

Nakashima — back in the Top 50 — had to fend off two match points in the second set.

Elsewhere in main draw play Monday, Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan meets Croatia’s Borna Coric in the evening session.

Marozsan was seeded last year in Astana — the former home of Kazakhstan’s 250 — but in qualifying.

While bumps have surfaced in 2024 for Marozsan, the 25-year-old’s seeding of seventh in the main draw is a mark of his overall progress.

He looked sharp in dispatching Nardi in Hangzhou, though was a walkover in the second round due to illness and hasn’t played since.

Marozsan trails Coric 1-0 in their head-to-heads, losing in three sets in Rome last year the day after upsetting Carlos Alcaraz.

Coric’s ranking just inside the Top 100 is a contrast to his career high of 12 six years ago. 

The other main draw outing pits Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina against Germany’s Maximilian Marterer.

Marterer shone for Germany in the Davis Cup last month yet enters Almaty on a four-match losing streak.

Dzumhur, who returned to the Top 100 this year aged 32, owns a 3-2 record against Marterer.

When they met at Wimbledon in 2018, Dzumhur came in ranked at a career high 23 and Marterer not far from a career best at 48.

Dzumhur prevailed on grass that day in straight sets.

Kukushkin, Bu, Evans involved in final qualifying round

The final round of qualifying takes place early Monday.

It features local flavour, as Mikhail Kukushkin is involved. He plays eighth seed Alibek Kachmazov.

Kukushkin, 36, has enjoyed a resurgence in 2024, re-entering the Top 100 like Dzumhur.

Bu Yunchaokete bids for a main draw spot, too. He is the second highest-ranked player on court Monday — behind Marozsan. China’s Bu encounters Britain’s Dan Evans, the former Top 30 regular with dazzling touch.