Djere Moves Through In Nur-Sultan
Laslo Djere snapped a four-match losing streak Monday at the Astana Open as he moved past Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the second round in Nur-Sultan.
The seventh seed was making his debut at the ATP 250 event and had to battle against Galan, recovering from a dip in the second set, before regaining momentum in the decider to advance after two hours and 17 minutes.
“I am very happy I won here,” Djere said. “I am really tired and I was really really nervous, especially at the end. I just wanted to win. I was playing a bit stiff. I had a huge desire to win the match and it was a huge fight until the last point.”
The World No. 49 will next play #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti or Australian qualifier Marc Polmans. Earlier this year, Djere enjoyed a run to the final on clay in Cagliari, before reaching semi-finals in Hamburg and Gstaad.
[FOLLOW 1000]In other action, Kazakhstan wild card Timofey Skatov upset Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-1 after two hours and 59 minutes to record his first tour-level win. The World No. 280 will face qualifier Elias Ymer or Winston-Salem champion Ilya Ivashka in the second round.
Miomir Kecmanovic defeated Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-2 victory to claim his first win since the Tokyo Olympics in July. The World No. 60 broke four times to advance after 83 minutes and will next play second seed Alexander Bublik.
“It feels great, especially since I haven’t really won anything recently, so it feels great to get a win against such a dangerous player,” Kecmanovic said. “It is not fun when you have a losing streak so I am definitely happy that I was able to come out on top. I played solid the whole match. I didn’t make many mistakes.”
Spaniard Jaume Munar also advanced, overcoming Jiri Vesely 6-3, 7-6(6) to level their ATP Head2Head Series at 1-1. The 24-year-old will next meet fifth-seeded Australian John Millman or Dmitry Popko.