Two of the three Kazakhstani tennis players who participated in the Australian Open-2022 qualification managed to get into the main draw of the competition in Melbourne. The correspondent of bbabo.net summarizes the results of the qualifying round and talks about the future prospects of the players at the Australian Open, as well as their likely opponents.
Three representatives of Kazakhstan - Dmitry Popko (177), Mikhail Kukushkin (180) and Timofey Skatov (255) made it to the final round of the men's singles qualification, which took place today, January 14. Their task was to win the decisive game and break into the main draw in order to join their compatriot Alexander Bublik (35) and the best tennis players in the world.
Miracle from Skatov
The first to complete the task was Skatov, who will turn 21 in a week. The young tennis player first participated in the qualification of the Grand Slam tournaments, and he immediately managed to break into the main draw. In three selection games, he managed to win all six games played.
This despite the fact that at the start of the qualification he beat the more famous Hugo Grenier (149), and in the final he dealt with the much more experienced Gashtau Elias (216), who had previously played eight times in the first round of Grand Slam tournaments.
Getting into the starting lineup from the very first participation in qualifying is something incredible. For example, Kukushkin, before making his debut in the main draw of the Grand Slam, lost five times in the qualifying rounds and made his debut only at 22 years and eight months.
A similar result among Kazakhstanis was achieved only by Bublik at the Australian Open in 2017. At that time, the 19-year-old tennis player participated in the Grand Slam qualification for the first time and immediately entered the main draw. Then the youngster managed to get to the second round.
Popko's curse and Kukushkin's new experience
The situation is much worse for the 25-year-old and forever promising Popko. In the final match, the Kazakhstani lost to the young Czech Jiri Lehechka, although he won the first set - 6:4, 3:6, 3:6. Dmitry participated in the qualification of the Grand Slam tournament for the 14th time, and for the 14th time he failed to win three matches in a row.
Popko came closest to success at the 2020 Australian Open, Roland Garros 2020 and in Melbourne now. Three finals, and in each of them the Kazakhstani won the starting set. It's starting to look like some sort of Grand Slam curse for Popko. What should be the second racket of the country when he suffered a 14th failure, and his much younger and lower-ranked comrade Skatov made it to the base on the first try.
The experienced Kukushkin also made the fans nervous. Now he will play in the main draw of the Australian Open for the 12th time in a row. Moreover, this was Mikhail's first participation in qualifying in Australia in his entire 16-year professional career.
He defeated his opponent Ernesto Escobedo in three games - 6:4, 5:7, 7:5. The match lasted almost three hours, but now the Kazakhstani will have time until at least Monday to recuperate.
With whom can Kukushkin and Skatov play?
In total, 16 tennis players will receive vouchers from qualifications to the base. And they can get into the main draw against a variety of opponents. The most dangerous of those who are waiting for one of the qualifiers in the first round is the 11th seeded Italian Yannick Sinner.
No less desirable for any qualifier are Pablo Carreno-Busta (Spain, 21), Taylor Fritz (USA, 22), Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria, 28), Marin Cilic (Croatia, 29) and Carlos Alcaraz (Spain, 33).
Bublik (Kazakhstan, 35), as well as a trio of Americans Francis Tiafoe (37), Tommy Paul (41) and Mackenzie McDonald (55) will be not the most terrible, but quite dangerous opponents for the qualifiers. It is impossible not to mention here the local star Nick Kiryos (114). At home Grand Slam, he can cause problems for any top, not to mention qualifiers.
It turns out that there are only a few more or less profitable options for Skatov and Kukushkin. The first of them is the 20-year-old Argentinean Juan Manuel Cherundolo (81). For him, this is generally the first participation in the Grand Slam tournament in his career, and he is also a pronounced dirt player. The Argentine does not have much success on hard surface.
The second option is Yoshihito Nishioka (99) from Japan. Last season, he did not particularly please his fans, because none of the "Grand Slams" or "Masters" did not go beyond the second round.
It will not be so bad to play with local tennis player Tanasi Kokkinakis (145), who received a Wild Card from the organizers. In fact, the once talented Australian also had to play qualification, but the favorite of the public again received a special invitation. Last year, he also received a WC from the Australian Open, but he did not qualify for any of the other three Grand Slams.36-year-old Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas (94) is also a fairly passable opponent. He is no longer young, and is also famous for his game on clay, and not on hard or grass. The same Kukushkin leads Cuevas in personal meetings with a score of 3:1.
Well, the last option is to get on another qualifier. In the lower half of the bracket, there is a confrontation between the two winners of the qualifying round. On the one hand, this is a 100% avoidance of a meeting with a top player, but on the other hand, it is a guarantee that the opponent will have good playing practice in qualifying and, therefore, is in great shape after three wins in a row. Here, as they say, "a pig in a poke."
Because of the last option, one cannot exclude a wonderful lot, as a result of which Skatov and Kukushkin would meet each other. There is already one Kazakh derby in the women's singles tournament.
Outlook in Melbourne
Both can show their good side. Kukushkin got in good shape, and at the end of last season he showed his class in the Davis Cup matches for the Kazakhstan national team. It is possible that participation in the qualification will even benefit Mikhail. Well, we need to hope for a favorable draw, and not like last year, when Dominic Thiem immediately fell into rivals with the Kazakhstani.
As for Skatov, he will play with courage. Breaking into the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time, and doing so in such confident style without dropping a set. It costs a lot. If in the opening round Timofey gets a tennis player not from the top 50, then it is quite possible and necessary to play. A possible victory will give the young player even more confidence and strength for the second round.
Recall that the main draw of the Australian Open 2022 will begin on Monday, January 17. The tournament will run until January 30 in Melbourne.
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Photos: KTF (1.2), ATP Challenger Tour (3), Australian Open (4.7), ATP Saint-Petersburg (5), ATP Adelaide (6)
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