Kazakhstani tennis player Timofey Skakov has ended his run in the US Open qualifying tournament, losing in the second round to Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6:7 (5:7), 4:6. The match lasted exactly two hours, reports infohub.kz.
Dimitrov, 35, who once reached No. 3 in the world rankings, is now 137th and had to start in qualifying. The Bulgarian has three Grand Slam semifinal appearances (Wimbledon 2014, Australian Open 2017, US Open 2019). He was also known for his relationships with famous tennis players, including Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
For Skakov, 25, ranked 205th, this was his third attempt to reach the main draw of a major in 2026, and all three were unsuccessful. In the first qualifying round, the Kazakhstani confidently beat Belgian Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (6:4, 6:2), but then faced Dimitrov, to whom he also lost in their only previous meeting at Roland Garros 2023 (0:6, 3:6, 2:6).
In the first set, the fight was even until the tie-break, where at 5-5 Skakov made an error, and Dimitrov converted the first set point. In the second set, the key was a break by the Bulgarian in the third game. The Kazakhstani could not make a return break and eventually lost. Over the whole match, Skakov did not break Dimitrov's serve. Match statistics: aces 4-17, double faults 4-3, total points won 70-80.
The US Open is an annual Grand Slam tennis tournament played on hard courts. For the second consecutive year, it starts a week earlier than usual due to the rescheduling of mixed doubles matches. The prize money is a record $108 million. Since 1978, the tournament has been held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, New York. The defending champions are Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.