Tsitsipas Faces Retiring Kukushkin at ATP Almaty

Stefanos Tsitsipas is set to face Mikhail Kukushkin at the ATP Almaty tournament in Kazakhstan, where the veteran home favorite is preparing to retire after the event. The Day 3 schedule also features Tomas Machac against wild-card entrant Zangar Nurlanuly and Mattia Bellucci against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, according to match previews published by Last Word On Sports on October 20, 2026.

Tsitsipas, a former world No. 3 and two-time Grand Slam finalist, enters the matchup after surviving a three-set contest against Aleksandar Kovacevic. He won the opening-set tiebreak 11-9, lost the second set 6-3, and secured the deciding set 6-3.

The Greek player reached the final during his previous appearance in Almaty in 2022, when he lost to Novak Djokovic. He also holds a 5-0 head-to-head advantage over Kukushkin, including a 6-3, 6-4 victory at the same tournament four years ago.

Kukushkin, 39, earned another match in his final tournament by defeating Stefanos Sakellaridis in a contest in which both sets went to tiebreaks. His upcoming meeting with Tsitsipas will be another opportunity for the home crowd to recognize his career as he prepares to leave professional tennis.

In another scheduled matchup, Italian Mattia Bellucci faces Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry after a strong run of results on the Challenger circuit. Bellucci won the Jinan Challenger title, defeating Martin Landaluce 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the final after reaching that stage without dropping a set.

According to Last Word On Sports, Bellucci has won 14 of his last 15 matches, including qualifying rounds, and reached a second final during the month. He also leads Etcheverry 1-0 in their head-to-head record after recovering from a set down to win their previous meeting at the Italian Open.

Etcheverry arrives in Almaty after losing to Dalibor Svrcina in Shanghai, extending his losing streak to four matches. The Argentine has exited in the first round at six of his last seven tournaments outside his run to the US Open round of 16, according to the preview.

The third featured contest pairs Czech player Tomas Machac with 18-year-old Kazakh wild card Zangar Nurlanuly, who is making his debut in an ATP Tour main draw. Nurlanuly's best result this season was a semifinal appearance at a lower-level tournament in Astana.

Machac, 26, has already won a title in 2026 but has struggled to maintain consistency because of injuries. He ended a main-draw drought at the Shanghai Masters with a comeback victory over Zhizhen Zhang before losing to Alexander Bublik. His fitness remains a key factor heading into the Almaty match.

Last Word On Sports projected straight-set victories for Machac and Tsitsipas, while predicting that Bellucci would need three sets to overcome Etcheverry. The ATP Almaty event continues with six matches scheduled for Day 3, including the three featured contests.