The ATP Challenger series tournament kicked off in Madrid, Spain, with Kazakh tennis players Mikhail Kukushkin and Denis Yevseyev competing in the singles matches of the first round.
Mikhail Kukushkin (ATP No. 143) defeated American Nicolas Moreno de Alboran (ATP No. 134) with a score of 6:4, 6:4. Kukushkin served two aces, made no double faults, and converted four out of 12 break points during the 1 hour and 38-minute match.
Denis Yevseyev (ATP No. 186) was unable to advance past the opening round, losing to Austrian Jurij Rodionov (ATP No. 124) with a score of 3:6, 6:2, 4:6. Yevseyev served two aces, five double faults, and converted five out of eight break points during the 1 hour and 41-minute match.
The opponent for Mikhail Kukushkin in the second round is yet to be determined, while earlier Dmitry Popko caused a sensation at the start of the tournament in the USA.
