French tennis player Adrian Mannarino delivered a stunning upset at the Almaty Open in Kazakhstan, defeating fourth-seeded Andrey Rublev to advance to the quarterfinals.
This victory reinforces Mannarino’s impressive record at the tournament, marking his fourth time reaching the final eight in this ATP 250 event.
Mannarino will face Nikoloz Basilashvili next, who triumphed over Facundo Diaz Acosta with a score of 6-2, 6-4. With this win, Mannarino has now achieved a remarkable total of 13 victories at the Almaty Open, which includes winning the title in 2023 and reaching the finals in 2020.
In a display of skill, Mannarino kept Rublev guessing with his precise timing. He maintained composure during crucial moments, sealing the match on his third match point. The tournament is being held on indoor hard courts.
This marks Mannarino’s 66th tour-level quarterfinal appearance, and it is his fourth of the year. The 38-year-old has performed notably well on indoor hard courts this season, with his best result being a runner-up finish in Montpellier.
According to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Rublev had reached the finals in Hangzhou last month but has now lost three consecutive matches. Earlier, James Duckworth secured his first top-30 victory of the year by defeating world number 23 Luciano Darderi 7-5, 7-6(7) to reach the quarterfinals. Duckworth had previously reached the semifinals in Winston-Salem this season and will now face seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, who easily defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-2.
Kukushkin, 38, is competing in the final tour-level tournament of his career. He began his professional journey in 2006 and won a tour-level title in St. Petersburg in 2010. Throughout his career, he has achieved four victories against top-10 players, with a notable win against former world number 4 Stan Wawrinka in Basel in 2014.
In other matches, Tomas Machak advanced to the second round by easily defeating Kazakhstan’s 18-year-old wild card player Jangar Nuralanuli 6-2, 6-0. Mattia Bellucci also moved on to the second round after a hard-fought battle against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, winning 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-4 after 2 hours and 32 minutes.