Shevchenko defeats Fucsovics, reaches quarterfinals in Adelaide

Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko reached the quarterfinals of the tournament in Australia / Photo: Tennis.com.au

Kazakhstan’s second-ranked tennis player Alexander Shevchenko (World No. 104) defeated 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) Márton Fucsovics (55) and advanced to the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 Adelaide International 2026 tournament.

Until today, Jan. 14, Shevchenko faced Fucsovics only once. At last year’s tournament in Kitzbühel, Austria, a Kazakhstani athlete was victorious, scoring 7-5, 6-4. To compete with Hungary’s player again, Shevchenko passed the qualifying rounds in Adelaide and defeated 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 Bosnia’s Damir Džumhur (66) in the round of 32.

The fourth game proved decisive in the first set. Despite Fucsovics’s determined resistance, with eight deuces played, Shevchenko managed to break, which was enough to take the set 6-3.

The second set didn’t have breaks. Opponents held their services, including the sixth game, when Shevchenko secured a comeback from 0-40.

In the tiebreak, Shevchenko stayed slightly ahead throughout and converted his third match point to finish the match in 1 hour 41 minutes, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6). The Kazakh player outpaced the higher-ranked Fucsovics in aces, 9-7, and total points won, 75-62.

In quarterfinals, Shevchenko will face France’s Ugo Humbert (36), who hasn’t lost a set in Adelaide. In the round of 32, he defeated 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) Terence Atmane (64). Next, in the round of 16, Humbert won 6-4, 6-1 against the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor (25), seeded four.

Head-to-head score of Shevchenko with Humbert is 2-0. The latest game they met in was at the start of 2024 Wimbledon, where they played five sets: 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (3-7), 6-1.

The Adelaide International, held since 2020, is part of the hard-court tournaments leading up to the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the calendar year. The women’s WTA event, with a prize money of $1.2 million, is classified as a WTA 500 tournament, while the men’s ATP event, with $770,000 in prize money, is an ATP 250 tournament.