Kazakh tennis player Damir Zhalgasbay and his American partner Safir Azam got off to a winning start in the boys' doubles at the 2026 US Open junior tournament, reports infohub.kz.
In the first-round match, the duo of Zhalgasbay/Azam defeated the Thai-Indian pair of Kunanan Pantaratorn and Arnav Paparkar 6:4, 6:2. The match lasted 58 minutes.
In the first set, a decisive break came in the tenth game. In the second set, the Kazakh and American seized the initiative from the start, taking a 3-0 lead with a break, and confidently closed out the match.
For a place in the quarterfinals, Zhalgasbay and Azam will face the Japanese duo of Hyu Kawanishi and Kanta Watanabe, who upset the third-seeded Americans Michael Antonius and Jordan Lee 6:3, 7:5 in the first round.
In singles, Zhalgasbay exited after his first match, losing to American Jack Secord.
Elena Rybakina continues her campaign in New York. The world No. 2 could reach the semifinals if she beats China's Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals.
The US Open is an annual Grand Slam tennis tournament played on hard courts, the last of the four majors in the calendar year. The total prize money is a record $108 million.
Since 1978, matches have been held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
The defending men's champion is Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Jannik Sinner in last year's final. The Spaniard advanced to the quarterfinals of this year's tournament by defeating American Tommy Paul (21) 6:4, 6:3, 6:4.
In women's singles, the 2025 winner was Aryna Sabalenka. In the final, she defeated American Amanda Anisimova. The Belarusian reached the 2026 semifinals today, beating Czech Linda Noskova 7:6 (7:1), 3:6, 7:6 (10:7).