Asciak earns first ATP points

Matthew Asciak made it to the main draw of one of three Futures tournaments he played recently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Malta champion chalked up his first ATP points thanks to his achievement after clearing three qualifying rounds and beating former Australian Open Junior champion Sun-Yong Kim (S. Korea) in the first round proper 6-4 6-3.

Before this tournament, Asciak, who had just played for Malta in the Games of the Small States of Europe, took part in two similar competitions, where aspiring young players aim to make a breakthrough in international rankings, but failed to leave his mark and twice lost in the second qualifying round.

However, in his third attempt Asciak looked more focused.

First, he eliminated Indonesia player Marco Sitepu in three sets, 6-2 4-6 6-1. Then, he trounced Malaysia's Selvarajoo 6-1 6-1 before a titanic clash with Andrew Fitzpatrick that also required a third set to determine a winner. The Briton was seeded no.3 in the qualifying phase and has a world ranking of 1,234.

Asciak won it 4-6 6-4 6-4 to book his place in the Last 32 where he played Sun-Yung Kim and won his first ATP points. His next opponent in the tournament was Thailand's Kittiphong Wachiramanowong. The latter beat Asciak 6-4 6-3.

Omar Sudzuoka, another upcoming Maltese junior, also played in the Malaysia Futures tournaments.

He did not win any of his matches but garnered useful experience and this augurs well for his future.