He beat the Russian 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, in his first match against a top seed and on the night of Melbourne.
There was a moment of uneasiness in the box from Rafael Nadal, derived from the decay with his service and the recovered conviction of Australian Open – Schedule 1st day (Monday): Zverev, Nadal, Petkovic and Osaka serve”>Karen Khachanov, but calm was restored after the passing shot backhand parallel met its fate to quell the Russian’s reaction. The left-hander left the first set in this Australian Open, a logical quota to some extent due to the greater entity of his rival. The most important thing for the tournament champion in 2009 was his performance and physical fitness. He won 6-3, 6-2, 3-6 and 6-1, in two hours and 50 minutes, and will play this Sunday the round of 16 against the French Adrian Mannarino, russian executioner Aslan Karatsev. [Narración y estadísticas]
It took time for Khachanov to wake up, who only managed one point in the first three games. Already at a disadvantage, he tuned in with the service and stuck out his fist, gestural language with which he tried to strengthen his weakened self-esteem. Number 8 in the world in 2018, the year in which he won the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, his greatest success until last summer’s Olympic silver, Khachanov has not managed to stabilize himself among the best. The balance of two wins in 18 games against top 5 with which he appeared, both on the way to the title in the French capital, where he left behind Alexander Zverev Y Novak Djokovic.
It was his first match against a top seed, a qualitative leap compared to the first two rounds, and Nadal responded with the improvement that he has accustomed us to as the tournaments progress. He was a more conclusive player, with the extra aggressiveness required by the twenty-eighth seed. It was also his first appearance in the Australian night, with the supposed advantage for the Russian, with a flatter hit, more effective also with the new ball.
No physical hindrances
None of this was an insurmountable problem for Nadal, in which no hindrance is detected from the injury to his left foot that has kept him on the shoulder for more than five months. The Spaniard handles himself with the solvency that has allowed him to win 20 Grand Slam titles, with a security that invites optimism. There were times when he was forced to defend, because the Russian had to take extreme risks, and once the first set was given, the difficulties that Nadal always creates for him, who had only conceded one partial in their seven previous confrontations, were verified.
The Spaniard’s backhand worked particularly well, doing a lot of damage when he hit it crosswise on his opponent’s right. The break in the very long first game of the second set was a very hard blow for the Muscovite, who found a continuous reply at his service, perhaps the best of his arguments.
Khachanov hinted that he was not beaten with two consecutive points that led to his first break ball. In the first of them, he corrected a slip to hit his best down the line backhand of the night. vain eagerness Mercilessly, Nadal not only avoided the tie at two, but it was he who broke again then, to place himself with an unattainable 4-1 in the second set.
A recent finalist in the Adelaide 1 tournament, the Russian was alive when Nadal lost precision on serve in the third set. He signed some spectacular action, such as the surprising return winner like the one he connected in the fourth game or the backhand cross that led to the only break. It was the first compromising situation for the winner of the ATP 250 in Melbourne, something that became good news. The set went away, but he showed immediate ability to reply.
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