Alexander Shevchenko #111Kazakhstan22 – 1Daniil Glinka #178Estonia1

Glinka comes into Almaty off his strongest recent week, a run to the final of the Ferrero & Forty Challenger 100 at Villena. He recovered from a set down against both Gauthier Onclin and Jack Pinnington Jones there, which shows he can stay in hard-court matches when he is not at his best. That gives the 26-year-old left-hander a recent competitive reference before facing a higher-ranked opponent. The run ended in a straight-sets defeat to Laslo Djere and came entirely at Challenger level, so it qualifies his form rather than proving it against tour-standard opposition.

Glinka required treatment in the second set of the Villena final and was then listed as a withdrawal from the Olbia Challenger first round two days later, before taking a place in the Almaty qualifying draw. If that sequence reflects a physical problem rather than a scheduling choice, his ability to sustain a long qualifying match is the main open question. The five days without competition since the final cannot be read either way. No explanation has been issued for the medical timeout or the withdrawal, so the concern remains unconfirmed.

The single previous meeting went Shevchenko's way on indoor hard, and he pulled away decisively in the third set after losing a second-set tie-break. It shows the Kazakh has been able to handle Glinka's left-handed game across three sets. The meeting predates Glinka's stronger recent hard-court results, and one result at Challenger level does not reset the questions this fixture raises, so it frames the matchup rather than settling it.