Kazakhstani tennis player Mikhail Kukushkin advanced past the first round of the ATP 250 hard-court tournament in Almaty, defeating Greece's Stefanos Sakellaridis, infohub.kz reports.
Kukushkin, ranked 389th in the world, received a wild card — a special invitation from the organizers. His opponent, the world No. 133, earned his place in the main draw through qualifying.
The match lasted the minimum two sets, with each decided by a tiebreak. The Kazakhstani player took the win 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3).
The players spent 2 hours 13 minutes on court. During that time, Kukushkin hit one ace, committed one double fault and converted three of seven break points.
In the second round, the Kazakhstani will face the winner of the match between Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas (seventh seed) and American Aleksandar Kovacevic.
The Almaty Open is a farewell tournament for Kukushkin: he previously announced his retirement from professional tennis.