The qualifying cycle at the ATP 250 tournament in Almaty has concluded. Following the final matches, all four tennis players who secured their tickets to the main draw are now known.
Sakamoto Eliminates Diallo After a Fierce Battle
The most interesting match of the day was played between Canadian Gabriel Diallo and Japanese Rei Sakamoto. The Canadian entered the match strongly, easily taking the first set with a two-break advantage, 6-2. However, the Japanese player performed much better in the second set. After six missed break points, he finally managed to break his opponent’s serve, and then confidently held his own serve until the end to win the second set 6-4. A similar situation was seen in the third set; Sakamoto made the crucial break in the seventh game again, routinely defended it until the end of the match, and with a final score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, achieved a great triumph and advanced to the main tournament.
Solid Wins for Safiullin, Basilashvili, and Sakellaridis
In the other matches, the favorites and more experienced players justified expectations:
- Roman Safiullin defeated Ilia Simakin in the Russian derby. The first set was highly contested and was only decided in a tiebreak, 7-6(2) in favor of Safiullin. In the second set, the top seed of the qualifiers completely dominated, dropping only one game to his compatriot (6-1).
- Experienced Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili bested Australian Adam Walton in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(4). After winning the first set, Basilashvili showed more concentration in the second set tiebreak and deservedly moved forward.
- Unfortunately for the home crowd, Kazakh Aleksandr Shevchenko failed to qualify for the main draw. He was defeated by Greek Stefanos Sakellaridis 7-6(4), 6-4. The Greek tennis player secured the first set in a tiebreak, and then brought the match to a close with a single break in the second set.
The complete draw, the main tournament order of play, and all the latest news can be followed on our central ATP Almaty Open Hub Page.
