Almaty, Oct 16 Justin Engel, remarkable run at the Almaty Open came to an end as he fell to fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 7-6(3) in a tightly contested 90-minute Round of 16 clash on Wednesday.
The 17-year-old German wild card, made history on Monday by becoming the first player born in 2007 or later to win an ATP Tour match.
Engel, who impressed in his tour-level debut by defeating Coleman Wong, gave Cerundolo a tough battle. Despite being a set down and broken early in the second, Engel fought back to force a tie-break, showcasing his talent with 15 winners throughout the match. But Cerundolo's consistency—committing nine fewer unforced errors—ultimately helped him advance to the quarter-finals.
"It’s always difficult to play someone new, especially a young player with nothing to lose. He played freely and made it challenging at the end. But luckily, I managed to close it out in the tie-break," Cerundolo said post-match.
Cerundolo's win marks his 30th tour-level victory of the season, propelling him to his first hard-court quarter-final of the year, where he will meet either Aslan Karatsev or Alexander Shevchenko.
For Engel, who balanced tennis and kickboxing until age 12 and idolises Rafael Nadal, this tournament was another step in a breakthrough year. Ranked No. 458, the teenager won his first ITF title in May and has captured three more since.
Earlier this month, he reached his first ATP Challenger Tour quarterfinal in Villena, Spain, and his performance in Almaty hints at a bright future ahead.
In other first-round action, Australian Aleksandar Vukic secured a straight-sets win over compatriot James Duckworth 6-4, 7-5. Vukic will now face eighth seed Adrian Mannarino in the second round.
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