The ATP Challenger series tournament kicked off in Sarasota, Florida, USA, with Kazakh tennis player Dmitry Popko (No. 236 ATP) securing a victory in the first round of the singles category.
In a thrilling start to the tournament, Popko defeated the top favorite and local crowd darling, Jeffrey John Wolf (No. 102 ATP). Despite the support of the home crowd, American tennis player Wolf couldn't withstand Popko's prowess. Popko celebrated a triumph over the tournament's top seed with a score of 7:6, 6:1.
The opponents battled it out on the court for 1 hour and 26 minutes. During this time, Popko served five aces, committed three double faults, and converted four out of six break points.
Next up, in the second round, Dmitry Popko will face another American, Tennys Sandgren (No. 284 ATP), in what promises to be an exciting match.
In a separate development, 27-year-old Russian figure skater Adelina Sotnikova announced her engagement to Kazakh tennis player Dmitry Popko.
