viviennewestwoodstore

Tag: Khachanov

  • Khachanov Takes Out Kyrgios To Reach US Open SFs

    Khachanov Takes Out Kyrgios To Reach US Open SFs

    Karen Khachanov has edged Nick Kyrgios in a big-serving battle in the early hours of Wednesday morning to charge into the first Grand Slam semi-final of his career at the US Open.

    In a match devoid of atmosphere in the first half and overflowing with electricity in the second half, the 27th seed withstood 31 aces and vocal crowd support for his opponent en route to a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 6-7(3) 6-4 win in three hours, 39 minutes after earlier coming within two points of victory in the fourth set.

    Khachanov, who fired 30 aces himself, advances to play Norway’s Casper Ruud, who has the opportunity to finish the tournament at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

    [ATP APP]

    “I did it! I did it!,” Khachanov said. “I’m really proud of myself, I was focussed from the beginning to the end.

    “It was a crazy match but I came ready to fight and to play five sets.”

    A man in the second row of Arthur Ashe Stadium receives a haircut during Khachanov-Kyrgios Tuesday night.
    A man in the second row of Arthur Ashe Stadium receives a haircut during the match.
    Big serving dominated the first two sets with short points and an unusually subdued Kyrgios giving the crowd little energy to feed off. But as the players began to play more extended rallies beginning in the third set the New York crowd found its voice, especially when Kyrgios dominated the fourth-set tie-break to force a decider.

    But the Australian dropped serve at the beginning of the fifth and Khachanov held firm all the way to the finish line. Khachanov converted four of his first six break point opportunities (4/8 for the match), while Kyrgios converted just two of nine break chances.

    Khachanov, who needed five sets to ousts Montreal champion Pablo Carreno Busta in the fourth round, has survived a gruelling path to the semi-finals. He also need four sets to beat Denis Kudla in the first round, and Thiago Monteiro in the second round. He was also headed for another four or five setter with Jack Draper in the third round before the young Brit retired injured.

    Comedian Trevor Noah (right) was in attendance for the US Open quarter-finals Tuesday night.
    Comedian Trevor Noah (right) was in attendance for the US Open quarter-finals Tuesday night.
    Khachanov has surged 13 places during the tournament to No. 18 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. Depending on other results, he could crack the Top 10 if he wins the tournament.

    Kyrgios, who finished the tournament with 116 aces and a tour-leading 27 wins since the beginning of the grass season, climbed to No. 19 in the live standings during the tournament to pass Alex de Minaur as the highest-ranked Australian.

    “I’m obviously devastated. But all credit to Karen. He’s a fighter. He’s a warrior. I thought he served really good today,” Kyrgios said in his post-match press conference. “Honestly probably the best server I played this tournament. The way he was hitting his spots under pressure. He just played the big points well.

    “Really wasn’t anything in it. I’m just devastated obviously. Just feel like it was either winning it all or nothing at all. I feel like I’ve just failed at this event right now. That’s what it feels like.”

    [NEWSLETTER FORM]

  • Khachanov Outlasts Carreno Busta In Five

    Khachanov Outlasts Carreno Busta In Five

    Bovada LV Score $750 Welcome Bonus

    Karen Khachanov reached the quarter-finals at the US Open for the first time Sunday,
    outlasting Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 to continue his strong run in New York.

    In a heavy-hitting clash in front of energised fans on Louis Armstrong Stadium, the 26-year-old appeared the fresher of the two in the deciding set, triumphing in three hours, 20 minutes.

    “With Pablo, we always have unbelievably tough matches,” Khachanov said in his on-court interview. “I was preparing physically to be ready for the whole match to play my best. From the first match (Monday), I started to feel better and better, more confident of course.”

    After Carreno Busta controlled the first set from the baseline, commiting just six unforced
    errors, Khachanov found consistency from his backhand to capture the following two sets. When the Spaniard leveled the match to force a deciding set, Khachanov served well and focussed on playing defense from well beyond the baseline, finishing the match with 32 unforced errors to Carreno Busta’s 43.

    Khachanov, who is making his seventh appearance at Flushing Meadows, has now advanced
    to the last eight at three of the four Grand Slams. The four-time tour-level titlist reached the
    quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021.

    “To be honest, I had in 2018 a really great match against Rafa (in New York) and good memories. But then after that, not so good performances in New York, so I was a little bit nervous this year because I wanted to do well and I feel like I’m playing good tennis,” Khachanov said.

    The 27th seed has now won his past four meetings against the Montreal champion Carreno
    Busta, holding a 6-3 ATP Head2Head series record overall.

    “The previous three matches against Pablo, I won, that gave me confidence from the beginning. I think now Pablo is playing some of his best tennis, he won Masters in Montreal. It’s a tough battle… I’m really happy to win,” Khachanov said.

    Khachanov rises to No. 22 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and will next play top seed Daniil Medvedev or Australian Nick Kyrgios.

    “I prefer now just watch relax and watch (Medvedev-Kyrgios) in the locker room. Whoever wins, I cannot choose, both of them are great players,” Khachanov said.

    Khachanov, who improves to 30-20 in 2022, would break within the Top 20 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time since February 2021 with a quarter-final victory. He reached his career-high mark No. 8 in July 2019.

      

    Europa Casino 100% up To €100 + €2400 Welcome Bonus




  • Checkmate: Khachanov On Chess, LeBron James & A US Open First

    Checkmate: Khachanov On Chess, LeBron James & A US Open First

    Bovada LV Score $750 Welcome Bonus

    When Karen Khachanov was a kid, he did more than train to become a professional tennis player. The Moscow-native swam, played basketball and participated in athletics.

    But from ages 10-11, he also attended chess class. Instead of blasting forehands and crushing backhands, Khachanov learned to outmanoeuvre opponents on a 64-square board, where no physical power or foot speed could help him.

    “[In chess] you need to think all the time. You have 100 different combinations and variations with each move. It always depends which figure your opponent will move. There always has to be some tactics and for sure it’s a mental game as well,” Khachanov said. “You need to stay sometimes three, four hours in a competition if we’re talking about professional chess to sweat it out and try to think about one move [for] maybe 30 minutes.

    “You break your head and that’s the really interesting part of the chess game.”

    [ATP APP]

    Some see Khachanov’s power from the baseline and miss the tactics he uses to position himself for his biggest shots. In a way, he believes all the thinking that goes into the sport makes it similar to chess.

    “I think there are some similarities because you always think about what type of shot you can do, tactics are one of the most important things in tennis as well,” Khachanov said. “[It is about] where you place a shot, how hard, how high, percentage of the serves, where you’re going to stay, where you’re going to return and all those things. Of course they matter. It’s not that simple I would say, but there are some similarities.”

    Khachanov does not constantly follow professional chess tournaments, but he is plenty familiar with the biggest stars in the chess world like Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. He also watched The Queen’s Gambit, which he called “one of the nicest TV shows I remember on Netflix”.

    One of his coaches, Jose Manuel ‘Pepo’ Clavet, is also a chess fan. When they are together, they play two or three games per day.

    “I think [I play chess] the same way I am in tennis,” Khachanov said, cracking a laugh. “I try to be the same way.”

    Khachanov is also a basketball fan, who attends NBA games when he can, like he did earlier this year during the Miami Open presented by Itau. The 26-year-old was a big fan of the Miami Heat when he was younger, watching LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh lead the team to glory. He is a big fan of James, which has led him to follow the Los Angeles Lakers more closely, although he is still a Heat fan.

    “I think the way he is, the mentality that he has in the sport, what he [has] achieved already. He’s one of the best athletes. Let’s say [he is like] Cristiano in soccer, Messi in soccer, him, Jordan… like Rafa, Novak and Roger in tennis,” Khachanov said. “He’s one of the best basketball players. I think the way he stays motivated and is still looking forward to play at his best and is still scoring the way that he does, it’s tough to explain sometimes.”

    [NEWSLETTER FORM]

    On the court, Khachanov has been one of the most consistent players on the circuit in recent years. Since August 2018, he has been lodged in the Top 35 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings without falling from that group.

    “Sometimes you just look forward to being better. Sometimes you can be worse as well, so in a way I never look back and think I’m Top 20, Top 30, Top 35. I always look forward to achieving my goals and try to move forward,” Khachanov said. “I always think of how I can improve to rise up in the rankings, to be back in the Top 10. This is the ultimate goal I have. I’m working every day to try to find out what I need [to do], what I can do better.”

    Khachanov reached his career-high of World No. 8 in July 2019 after winning the Rolex Paris Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 event, the November before.

    But one of his most impressive performances came in a loss. At the 2018 US Open, Khachanov pushed Rafael Nadal to the limit in a four-hour, 23-minute loss over four sets.

    “I always am thinking about New York. It’s one of my favourite Slams, I would say, especially Arthur Ashe Stadium. The match against Rafa that I played in 2018, the emotions, the adrenaline, it is one of the good ones to remember,” Khachanov said. “That’s why coming back to New York I always want to do well.”

    It is performances like those that make Khachanov confident on court. The 27th seed still believes he can compete with anyone on his best day.

    “That’s a very important thing, first of all to believe in yourself, to believe in your abilities, what you can do when you play at your best, where you can be and which players you can beat, how far you can go. That’s obviously one of the mental parts, [the] self-belief that you can do well,” Khachanov said. “You can go out there and still lose a match and there is no shame in losing it. It’s the belief that you can go deep and win it all. That’s what it takes and that’s a really important part of my game and tennis in general.”

    To Khachanov, his game is like a puzzle made of components, with some related to his physical tools and others to the mental side of the sport.

    “All those parts are really important to put together,” Khachanov said. “[With them] I can achieve what I’m dreaming of.”

    The next step in achieving those dreams will be to defeat Montreal champion Pablo Carreno Busta on Sunday at Flushing Meadows.

      

    Get your $500 FREE BONUS at Blackjack Ballroom now!



    Blackjack Ballroom