Home flavour features on Day 2 of Almaty Open while Mannarino begins title defence
Ravi Ubha
A home player is guaranteed to reach the second round at the Almaty Open since two square off on Day 2 of main draw play.
Mikhail Kukushkin faces Alexander Shevchenko in the featured night match at the Almaty Arena on Tuesday, weeks after the pair met in Hangzhou.
Kukushkin won 6-4 7-6 (3) in what proved to be an eventful day for the 36-year-old.
He reached a first ATP quarterfinal in four years — since Astana in 2020 — and returned to the Top 100 for the first time since 2021.
Kukushkin, currently ranked 103, controlled proceedings in the opening set before rallying from an early break deficit in the second.
He also showed fine sportsmanship by coming to Shevchenko’s aid when the 23-year-old slipped and fell deep into the second set.
Kukushkin — who has played for Kazakhstan 50 times in the Davis Cup — has been an ever present at Kazakhstan’s ATP 250.
A wildcard in the past three editions in Astana, Kukushkin had to go through qualifying this time in Almaty and didn’t drop a set against Khumoyun Sultanov and Chengdu semifinalist Alibek Kachmazov.
Shevchenko recently endured a spell where he lost nine of 11 matches, including his Davis Cup debut.
But he picked up a pair of wins in his last event, the Shanghai Masters, to alter the momentum.
His second-ever appearance in the main draw of an ATP event came in Kazakhstan (Astana) in 2022.
Mannarino back in Kazakhstan
A regular in Kazakhstan, Adrian Mannarino begins the defense of his title against Roman Safiullin first up on centre court.
The left-hander achieved his best ever year-end finish in 2023 at the age of 35. He bagged multiple titles (3) for the first time in a campaign and achieved a personal-best 43 wins.
But 2024 has been more difficult for the Frenchman, evidenced by a 12-27 record and at one stage, 10-match losing streak.
Mannarino and 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Safiullin are separated by two spots in the rankings though the former has claimed both their previous matches.
Tuesday’s lone other centre court singles outing pits Kazakhstan wildcard Beibit Zhukayev — an Almaty resident — against Lebanese qualifier Benjamin Hassan.
Opportunity knocks for both the world No. 213 Zhukayev and No. 210 Hassan.
Hassan, who represented Lebanon at the Olympics and beat 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Chris Eubanks, bids for a first ATP win.
Zhukayev tries for his second and first of 2024. The 24-year-old qualified for Shanghai, where Safiullin edged him in two sets.
Zhang, Karatsev meet on Court 1
Among the Court 1 action, some big hitting is sure to feature when sixth seed Zhang Zhizhen — a finalist at home in Hangzhou — meets former Australian Open semifinalist Aslan Karatsev.
Karatsev came through qualifying, as did Dan Evans, who beat top seed Bu Yunchaokete.
In a rivalry spanning 10 years, Evans leads first-round opponent Taro Daniel 3-2 in their tussles.
The winner faces main draw top seed Frances Tiafoe in the second round.
Fabio Fognini, the oldest player in the draw at 37, battles the big-serving Otto Virtanen.
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