Vacherot levels Davis Cup tie against Kazakhstan

Monaco’s top-ranked player, Valentin Vacherot, defeated Kazakhstani Alexander Shevchenko 6-0, 6-3 to equalize the tie in the Davis Cup in Astana.

In the first match of the day, Alexander Bublik’s dominance over Hugo Nys was evident, 6-0, 6-3. As for the Shevchenko-Vacherot match, the balance of power was similar.

Vacherot poses a serious challenge — last October, he sensationally defeated Bublik at the ATP 1000 2025 Rolex Shanghai Masters. That victory (6-3, 3-6, 4-6) proved pivotal for Vacherot, who ultimately won the tournament and rose to world No. 40 after starting at 204th. Currently, Monaco’s player stands 27th, while Bublik is No. 10 in the ATP rankings.

At the 2026 Australian Open in Melbourne, Vacherot reached the third round, and Bublik reached the fourth. Their clash is expected to be spectacular.

As for today’s second match, no matter how hard Shevchenko tried, he couldn’t mount a real threat against Vacherot. The 0-6, 3-6 score of the first match was mirrored.

Tomorrow, on Feb. 7, Bublik and Shevchenko will switch opponents. The opening match will be the doubles clash with Alexander Bublik/Beibit Zhukayev vs. Hugo Nys/Romain Arneodo announced.

However, the tournament’s rules allow the replacement of any player on the roster one hour before the match. So, it is likely that Bublik will not play in the doubles ahead of the Vacherot match.

Tomorrow’s singles matches are likely to be decisive. The doubles rankings of Nys and Arneodo are quite high. Whoever Kazakhstan fields, the match will be challenging.