Russian title aspirations halted at Australian Open
Russia’s Karen Khachanov had his Australian Open title ambitions dashed following a loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinal.. source:TROIB RTS
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Russia's hopes for a men's title at the Australian Open came to a halt as Karen Khachanov was defeated by Greek rival Stefanos Tsitsipas in a semifinal showdown on Friday.
Khachanov struggled in the opening set, losing in a tiebreak, and dropped the second set 4-6 as Tsitsipas began to assert himself in the match at Rod Laver Arena. The Greek player gained a break advantage and was serving to close out the match in the third set when Khachanov mounted a challenge, breaking back and ultimately winning a tiebreak after saving two match points.
However, in the fourth set, the third seed Tsitsipas regained control with an early break and secured the victory with scores of 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 after a grueling match that lasted three hours and 21 minutes.
For the 18th-seeded Khachanov, this result marks consecutive disappointments in Grand Slam semifinals, following his earlier loss at the US Open in September.
Despite the setback, the 26-year-old can take pride in another impressive performance at a major tournament, becoming only the tenth active player on the ATP Tour to reach at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slams.
Khachanov's strong showing will also aid his pursuit to return to the world's top ten; he previously achieved a career-high ranking of eight in 2019.
On the other hand, Tsitsipas improved his head-to-head record against Khachanov to 6-0 and reached the second Grand Slam final of his career.
Awaiting the 24-year-old in the final could be Novak Djokovic, who previously defeated Tsitsipas in five sets during the Greek's first Grand Slam final appearance at the French Open in 2021.
The record nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic is favored to advance when he faces unseeded American Tommy Paul in the second men's semifinal later that day. If Djokovic and Tsitsipas meet in the final, it would also serve as a direct contest for the world number one ranking.
Navid Kalantari contributed to this report for TROIB News
Khachanov struggled in the opening set, losing in a tiebreak, and dropped the second set 4-6 as Tsitsipas began to assert himself in the match at Rod Laver Arena. The Greek player gained a break advantage and was serving to close out the match in the third set when Khachanov mounted a challenge, breaking back and ultimately winning a tiebreak after saving two match points.
However, in the fourth set, the third seed Tsitsipas regained control with an early break and secured the victory with scores of 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 after a grueling match that lasted three hours and 21 minutes.
For the 18th-seeded Khachanov, this result marks consecutive disappointments in Grand Slam semifinals, following his earlier loss at the US Open in September.
Despite the setback, the 26-year-old can take pride in another impressive performance at a major tournament, becoming only the tenth active player on the ATP Tour to reach at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slams.
Khachanov's strong showing will also aid his pursuit to return to the world's top ten; he previously achieved a career-high ranking of eight in 2019.
On the other hand, Tsitsipas improved his head-to-head record against Khachanov to 6-0 and reached the second Grand Slam final of his career.
Awaiting the 24-year-old in the final could be Novak Djokovic, who previously defeated Tsitsipas in five sets during the Greek's first Grand Slam final appearance at the French Open in 2021.
The record nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic is favored to advance when he faces unseeded American Tommy Paul in the second men's semifinal later that day. If Djokovic and Tsitsipas meet in the final, it would also serve as a direct contest for the world number one ranking.
Navid Kalantari contributed to this report for TROIB News
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