Almaty Open: Mannarino Upsets Rublev; Tsitsipas Ends Kukushkin's Career

Almaty Open: Mannarino upsets Rublev; Tsitsipas ends Kukushkins career (Adrian Mannarino upsets Andrey Rublev; Stefanos Tsitsipas ends Mikhail Kukushkins career in the Almaty Open ATP 250 event in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday. Photo credit: ATP)

Lexus ATP Head2Head:  Adrian Mannarino of France upset fourth seed Andrey Rublev of Russia to reach the quarterfinals and maintain his impressive record at the Almaty Open, reaching the last-eight stage for the fourth time in the ATP 250 event in Kazakhstan.

With this, Frenchman Mannarino earned a tournament-record 13 wins, highlighted by his title run in 2023 and final showing in 2020, when the event was held in Astana.

In an impressive display against Rublev on Wednesday, Mannarino moved the 29-year-old around with his clean timing and held his nerve when serving out the match, sealing victory on his third match point at the indoor hard-court event.

“I know Andrey really well; we have played many times,” said Mannarino, who improved to 2-4 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. “I know if I were to play at my normal level, I would lose this match. He is a better player than me, so if I wanted to win, I had to play a little bit better than usual, and I think I played a good match today. I am happy to get through.”

Mannarino is into his 66th tour-level quarter-final and fourth in 2026. The 38-year-old has performed well on indoor hard courts this year, with his best result coming in those conditions in Montpellier, where he reached the final. The Frenchman will next play Nikoloz Basilashvili, who beat Facundo Diaz Acosta 6-2, 6-4.

Rublev enjoyed a run to the title match in Hangzhou last month but has now lost his past three matches, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Earlier, James Duckworth earned his first Top-30 win of the year when he overcame World No. 23 and second seed Luciano Darderi 7-5, 7-6(7) to reach the quarter-finals. The Australian, a semi-finalist this season in Winston-Salem, saved one set point in the second-set tie-break and will next meet seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Greek defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-2.

The 38-year-old Kukushkin was competing in his final tour-level event, having turned pro in 2006. Kukushkin lifted one tour-level trophy in St. Petersburg in 2010 and earned four Top-10 wins in his career, highlighted by his victory against then-World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka in Basel in 2014.

Earlier, James Duckworth earned his first Top-30 win of the year when he overcame World No. 23 and second seed Luciano Darderi 7-5, 7-6(7) to reach the quarter-finals. The Australian, a semi-finalist this season in Winston-Salem, saved one set point in the second-set tie-break and will next meet seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Greek defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-2.

Article Source: IANS