Karen Khachanov manages to take a weight victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas in two sets (7-6 (4), 6-4) in their duel for the fourth round of the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami. The Russian will face off against Fran Cerúndolo or Sonego in the quarterfinals.
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A high-level duel on this hot day in Miami. Stefanos Tsitsipas He was appearing for the second time in the tournament, and he was already doing it for the pass to the quarterfinals, since Richard Gasquet withdrew from the tournament before his match in the second round. Then yes, he beat Cristian Garín in three sets, showing passages of very good tennis. Today’s rival of him was Karen Khachanova player who usually lights up in important tournaments, and now he wanted to be among the best eight of the Miami Open, after his triumphs against a great Tomás Etcheverry and against Jiri Lehecka.
Between the two there were six previous confrontations, and Tsitsipas led the all-time record, going 6-0 undefeated. The most recent of them, in the semifinals of the Australian Open, where the Greek triumphed in four sleeves.
Khachanov returns to a Masters 1000 quarterfinal
Great start to the game, as expected, with both players well focused. The first games would escape quickly, both being with good feelings at the service. Khachanov resorted to the strategy of opening the Greek on the side of his backhand, to then close with the right cross or going up to the net. Tsitsipas was going to have his first break opportunities in the seventh game, but the Russian’s first serves appeared there to save his clothes. With not even more break points in the rest of the set, everything had to be decided in a tiebreaker. There, it was again point to point, but the Muscovite would get a fundamental mini break to get ahead. Searching a lot for the reverse of the Hellene and resisting almost glued to the posters, Khachanov forced his rival’s forehand error and took this tiebreak 7-4.
The development of the second set was going to maintain a similar trend, although logically the Russian came out with a little more energy, given the advantage he had been able to take. A break in the fifth game, in favor of Khachanov himself, put an already important difference in the numbers. The Greek would have a break point in the seventh game, but Karen managed to get it right with a great serve. Carrying on that advantage, the Russian would seal his victory with a final 6-4, after a lazy error plus a backhand from Tsitsipas.
