Europe, 26 October 2020 | Leigh Rogers

Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

Australians Marc Polmans and Alexei Popyrin have advanced to the final qualifying round at an ATP 250 tournament in Nur-Sultan.

Polmans posted a 5-7 6-3 6-0 win against Kazakh wildcard Denis Yeseyev, while Popyrin progressed when Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin retired late in the second set of their match with a right leg injury.

Max Purcell lost his opening round in the qualifying draw, with second-seeded Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland scoring a 6-1 6-2 victory.

Polmans and Popyrin need one more win to join fellow Australians John Millman, Jordan Thompson and James Duckworth in the main draw.

The fourth-seeded Millman receives an opening round bye and could face Duckworth in the second round.

The No.97-ranked Duckworth plays Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco in the first round. The No.61-ranked Verdasco has won their two previous meetings, which were both in 2015.

The eighth-seeded Thompson plays Brit Cameron Norrie in the first round. The No.70-ranked Norrie has won three of their four previous meetings.

Australian Open finalists Max Purcell and Luke Saville are the second seeds in the doubles draw and have drawn Kazakh wildcards Andrey Golubev and Alekandr Nedovyesov in their first match.

Results:

Men’s singles, qualifying first round
[4] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) d Denis Istomin (UZB) 6-4 4-4 ret.
[7] Marc Polmans (AUS) d [WC] Denis Yevseyev (KAZ) 5-7 6-3 6-0
[2] Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN) d Max Purcell (AUS) 6-1 6-2

Coming up:

Men’s singles, qualifying final round
[4] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v [5] Aslan Karatsev (RUS)
[7] Marc Polmans (AUS) v [3] Yuichi Sugita (JPN)

Men’s singles, first round
[4] John Millman (AUS) v Bye
[8] Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Cameron Norrie (GBR)
James Duckworth (AUS) v Fernando Verdasco (ESP)

Men’s doubles, first round
[2] Max Purcell (AUS)/Luke Saville (AUS) v [WC] Andrey Golubev (KAZ)/Alekandr Nedovyesov (KAZ)

Vienna, Austria

After a runner-up finish in Antwerp, Alex de Minaur returns to court in Vienna this week.

The ATP 500 tournament features six of the world’s top 10-ranked players – and De Minaur faces one of them in the opening round.

De Minaur faces a first-round showdown with world No.6 Daniil Medvedev. The Russian has won their two previous meetings.

John Peers and New Zealand’s Michael Venus, the newly-crowned European Open champions, also have a tough draw. They face German combination Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, who defended their Roland Garros title earlier this month.

Coming up:

Men’s singles, first round
Alex de Minaur (AUS) v [4] Daniil Medvedev (RUS)

Men’s doubles, first round
John Peers (AUS)/Michael Venus (NZL) v Kevin Krawietz (GER)/Andreas Mies (GER)