Alexander Shevchenko vs Stefanos Sakellaridis Prediction Almaty Open - Almaty · Oct 18, 2026

Analysis

Shevchenko arrives as the man with the higher ceiling: his recent calendar is full of tour-level opposition, including back-to-back 0-2 defeats to Hubert Hurkacz, a 0-2 loss to Yoshihito Nishioka and a five-set battle lost to Dino Prizmic, which tells you he belongs several tiers above a typical final qualifying round. He also already has his feet under him in Almaty after coming through Daniil Glinka 2-1 on 17 October, a scrappy win but a useful one in quick indoor conditions. Sakellaridis is in decent touch himself, having needed only two sets to see off Petr Bar Biryukov on the same day, though his 0-2 loss to Timofey Skatov on 5 October hints at the gap that appears against opponents with genuine weight of shot. Almaty's fast indoor hard court and thin air reward first-strike tennis, and that is exactly where Shevchenko's flat, aggressive baseline game and serve do their damage. The main risk is the one that always attaches to a Q3 match: a favourite who needed three sets in the previous round can start slowly, and Sakellaridis has nothing to lose. On balance the straight-sets route looks most likely, with a one-set wobble the realistic alternative.