Kazakhstan tennis player Timofey Skatov lived up to his lucky loser status in the main draw of the ATP 250 tournament in Estoril, Portugal, on Tuesday, July 21, according to a correspondent from inbusiness.kz.
Skatov, currently ranked 163rd in the ATP standings, began his campaign in the singles draw of the Millennium Estoril Open (prize fund over €612,000) with the qualifying rounds. In his first match, the fifth seed in qualifying defeated Portugal's Joao Domingues, ranked 591st, in three sets, earning a spot in one of the four qualifying finals. However, on Sunday, July 19, he lost to Spain's Pedro Martinez, ranked 157th, in two sets (3-6, 2-6), seemingly ending his tournament.
However, organizers gave Skatov a second chance by including him in the main draw as a lucky loser – the best of the losing finalists from qualifying. On Tuesday, the Kazakh took the court in the first round of the main draw against Netherlands' Jesper de Jong, ranked 98th. The two had never met in official matches, and the Dutchman was the favorite. In the first set, de Jong dropped just one game, winning 6-1. In the second set, de Jong led 2-0, but Skatov quickly fought back and took the set 6-4.
With the match tied, the winner was decided in the third set. Skatov stunned his opponent and the crowd by taking a 5-0 lead. The Dutch favorite managed to win three games, but in the ninth game, the Kazakh closed out the set 6-3 and the match 2-1. Skatov justified the tournament organizers' faith by advancing to the second round, where on Wednesday, July 22 (match start at 15:00 Astana time), he will face Russia's Andrey Rublev, ranked 14th and the top seed of the Millennium Estoril Open. Rublev advanced to the second round automatically; the two have never met before.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, July 21, the singles event of the ATP 250 Generali Open-2026 also began in Kitzbühel, Austria (prize fund over €612,000). Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko, ranked 84th, started his campaign against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff, ranked 41st and seeded sixth in Kitzbühel. This was their third meeting since 2023; Struff had won the previous two and also prevailed in this match: 3-6, 7-6(7-5), 6-4 after 1 hour 56 minutes.
Notably, another Kazakh, Alexander Bublik, ranked 11th and the top seed in singles at Kitzbühel, will also compete in the Generali Open. Bublik received a bye in the first round due to his high seeding. In the second round on July 22, he will face Argentina's Facundo Diaz Acosta, ranked 108th. The two have never met; their match starts at 14:00 Astana time.