In the second round, Khachanov faced world number 302 Beibit Zhukaev of Kazakhstan. Both players held serve comfortably in the first set, which then went to a tiebreaker. The Russian dominated the tiebreaker and won the first set.
Zhukaev evened the score by unexpectedly winning the second game, but Khachanov returned to action and broke his opponent’s serve twice in the tiebreaker and won the match with a score of 7-6 ( 1), 4-6, 6-2. However, even such a victory leaves questions, given the level of the opponent. Still, Khachanov needs to beat the world’s 302nd racket with more confidence.
Meanwhile, Dimitrov began his journey in Shanghai against Aleksandar Vukic in the second round. An early break in the first set gave the Bulgarian a good start, which he took advantage of to win the match.
Dimitrov took Vukic’s serve early in the second set and consolidated his advantage by taking his own to make it 2-0. The Bulgarian did not allow his opponent to raise his head and broke again, winning with a score of 6-4, 6-3.
Dimitrov leads personal meetings against Khachanov with a score of 2:0. He won their previous meeting at the 2021 Paris Masters in three sets.
Predictions for the match Karen Khachanov – Grigor Dimitrov
Going into their three-set match against a player outside of the top 300 was not an ideal scenario for Khachanov. However, he started the tournament on a winning note. The Russian scored 87% of his first serve points and scored a total of 25 winners.
Dimitrov, on the other hand, had a fairly routine victory against Vukic, not allowing a single break point to his opponent throughout the entire match. Having won the previous two matches against Khachanov, the Bulgarian will be quite confident in his chances.
Both had fairly decent seasons. Dimitrov is not fazed by Khachanov’s striking technique and has countered it quite well in the past using a range of tactics.
Although Khachanov is the strongest server, Dimitrov is also quite consistent in terms of accuracy and serving speed.
This could be another close match, but considering Khachanov’s recent performances and injury, Dimitrov is considered the favorite in this rivalry.
Forecast: Grigor Dimitrov will win in three sets.
Source: Sport
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