In 2023, Khachanov is having one of the best seasons of his career. He enjoyed great success in January, reaching the quarter-finals of two tournaments in Adelaide. After that, he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Khachanov also reached the semifinals in Miami, after which he performed well on clay, where he reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. The injury kept him from playing for a while, and upon his return he lost in the first round of the US Open.
Khachanov won his first title in five years in Zhuhai and finished the season with quarterfinals at the Vienna Open, Paris Masters and Moselle Open.
Ruusuvuori started the tournament in Hong Kong with a match against Benjamin Bonzi. The Finn came back from 0-3 down in the first set, but succumbed to the tiebreaker and lost the set.
Ruusuvuori improved his game and dominated the next two matches. He lost only three games after losing the first set and won the match 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-1.
Khachanov leads in the confrontation with Ruusuvuori with the score 2:0. He won their previous meeting at the 2022 Qatar Open in straight sets.
Predictions for the match Karen Khachanov – Emil Ruusuvuori
Ruusuvuori returned to the game and defeated Bonzi after losing the first set. He had 31 winners and 29 unforced errors. He converted 8 out of 25 break points and won 65% of his first serve points.
Khachanov hopes to have the same good start to the season as last year. His past victories against Ruusuvuori also give him a psychological advantage. Additionally, he won the previous two matches in straight sets.
Khachanov has a clear advantage in serving, as Ruusuvuori is not at his level in this regard. The Russian also has a more powerful forehand and backhand.
Ruusuvuori will have to change his game plan and play his best, but the Finn’s poor results against top 20 opponents (10-23) make the Russian the big favorite in this match.
Forecast: Karen Khachanov will win in straight sets.
Vyacheslav Gorbachev/Athletistic
Source: Sport
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.
