2016 Olympic doubles champion Elena Vesnina in a conversation with a correspondent, she expressed the opinion that the Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov could turn the tide of the Australian Open semi-final with Stefanos Tsitsipas but the Greek in the fourth set showed the best game of the encounter.
In the semifinals, 26-year-old Khachanov lost to Tsitsipas with the score 6:7 (2:7), 4:6, 7:6 (8:6), 3:6. For the Russian, this is the first Australian Open semi-final of his career and the second consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.
– I have the best impressions of the match, even despite the loss to Khachanov. Karen is a great guy. Two Grand Slam tournaments in a row, he goes to the semi-finals – this is a certain indicator. He raised the level of the game, noticeably added. And demonstrating such a level of play on the TBSH is a sign of class.
Today Karen lost to Tsitsipas, who showed slightly better tennis at the decisive moment. Stefanos still has a bit more experience at such Major stages. He is the fourth racket in the world and has confirmed his status on the court in the most important moments. When it was necessary, the Greek played at a very high level. However, Karen is still great. Too bad the first set of the tie-break didn’t work at all. I think it was psychologically important because Tsitsipas played the second game more relaxed. Karen is excellent for winning the third set. It even looked like it could change the course of the encounter, but Stefanos in fourth showed his best game of the encounter. He was so calm and consistent, like there hadn’t even been a third set lost in a tie-break.
What was Khachanov missing? Somewhere just a little. Still, in men’s tennis, the ranking, a good reception, decide a lot. And somewhere Tsitsipas played a little cleaner, more stable. Sometimes, by experience, we just know how to act. Stefanos just played like he was up to the experience of semi-final matches at TBSh. It was a step faster, a stroke more precisely at the right time. No wonder he is the fourth racket in the world and now has every chance to compete for the top row of the leaderboard. He had a lot at stake, and Tsitsipas did it.
We have always known that Stefanos is a very high level player. Karen is gaining momentum right now, will enter the top 15 after the Australian Open and may well enter the top ten. Tsitsipas has been in the top 10 for three years, not flying away. That is to say, it keeps a constant level, a stability. It also affects those matches, Vesnina told .
In the final, Tsitsipas will meet Serbian Novak Djokovic, who beat American Tommy Paul.
Source : MatchTV
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
