Stefanos Tsitsipas made a winning start to his Almaty Open campaign on Tuesday, overcoming US-American Aleksandar Kovacevic in a hard-fought three-set encounter at Almaty Arena.

The 28-year-old Greek and current world No. 39 came through 7-6(9), 3-6, 6-3 against the world No. 82 to secure his place in the second round of the ATP 250 event. Seeded seventh in Almaty, Tsitsipas needed two hours and one minute to get past his opening-round opponent.

The Greek fired seven aces and committed two double faults, winning an impressive 83 per cent of his first-service points. Kovacevic registered 13 aces and three double faults but was ultimately unable to prevent Tsitsipas from claiming victory.

A tough battle ⚔️

Stefanos Tsitsipas overcomes Kovacevic 7-6 3-6 6-3 in his first tournament appearance since 2022!

#AlmatyOpen https://t.co/C8iXJXm6l1

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 20, 2026

“My persistence,” Tsitsipas answered when asked about the key to his win. “I was trying to stay in the match and just be patient. He was serving exceptionally well today, it was really frustrating being on the other side of the court having to return. It wasn’t an easy match. He’s been serving like that even in our previous encounter.

“I feel like he’s been very consistent and, in my opinion, he improved a lot in the past couple of months. Very unlikely to be playing each other first round, but I really wish him the best. He’s a great player and I’m a big fan of his game.”

The Almaty Open marks Tsitsipas’ second appearance at the hard-court tournament in Kazakhstan. He previously reached the final in 2022, when the event was staged in Astana. Throughout his career, the Greek has captured 13 ATP Tour singles titles, including three ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Monte Carlo, and reached two Grand Slam finals.

Tsitsipas Set For Clash With Home Favourite Kukushkin

Tsitsipas will face Mikhail Kukushkin in the second round, setting up an intriguing encounter against the home favourite.

The 38-year-old Kazakh advanced after defeating Greece’s Stefanos Sakellaridis 7-6(4), 7-6(3) in a closely contested opening-round match.