ALMATY, October 22. /TASS/. Russia’s Karen Khachanov has advanced to the quarterfinals stage at the 2026 Almaty Open tennis tournament after defeating Tomas Machac from the Czech Republic on Thursday.
The 5th-seeded Russian, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, outplayed his Czech opponent 6-2; 4-6; 7-6 (9-7). He is now set to play in the quarterfinals round against Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan (3rd-seed).
"I am speechless," the ATP official website quoted Khachanov as saying after the match against Machac. "I was living through these hard moments but then the relief is there when you win these kinds of hard matches."
"I was leading at the start of the match, but then he increased the level and put a lot of pressure on me. Hitting his spots, playing even more powerful, more precise… I had to really stay there until the end," Khachanov added.
A seven-time ATP champion, Khachanov, 30, is currently the 25th-ranked player in the world. His best performance in the Grand Slam series was when he reached the semifinal rounds at the 2022, 2026 US Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
The Russian player also took home the silver medal in men’s singles at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. He also won the 2021 Davis Cup as part of the Russian national team.
The 2026 Almaty Open is the ATP 250 class tournament played on indoor hardcourts on October 19-25 and it offers $1.075 million in prize money. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev is the tournament’s reigning champion.
Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations moved to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022, to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.