In Ex-en-Provence, France, the ATP Challenger tournament has kicked off. In the first round of the singles competition, two Kazakhstani tennis players - Alexander Shevchenko and Mikhail Kukushkin - took to the courts.
Alexander Shevchenko (ATP No. 59) secured a victory in the opening match against the local player Gregoire Barrere with a score of 6:3, 6:1. The match lasted 1 hour and 9 minutes. During this time, Shevchenko served three aces, made one double fault, and converted four out of four break points (100%).
In the second round, Alexander Shevchenko will face Facundo Bagnis from Argentina.
Mikhail Kukushkin (ATP No. 129), who made it to the main draw in France through the qualifiers, lost in the first round to Argentine Francisco Comesana with a score of 4:6, 6:1, 6:7.
Earlier, the leader of the Kazakhstani men's national team, Alexander Bublik, failed to reach the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters.
