Khachanov Charges Into Maiden Masters 1000 Final

Karen Khachanov has enjoyed the best season of his young career in 2018, and now you can argue that this has been his best week. The Russian defeated sixth seed Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-1 on Saturday in just 71 minutes at the Rolex Paris Masters to reach his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final.

Entering the tournament, the 22-year-old held just a 3-16 record against opponents inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings. But Khachanov has earned three victories against the elite group this week alone, defeating World No. 9 John Isner, No. 5 Alexander Zverev and now No. 8 Thiem.

Khachanov had won four matches at Masters 1000 events before this season began. The Russian No. 2 now has 15 match wins at this level this year, including a trip to the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Khachanov has also won two ATP World Tour titles in 2018 with triumphs at the Open 13 Provence and the VTB Kremlin Cup.

Khachanov will try to lift the biggest trophy of his career against four-time champion Novak Djokovic or 2011 titlist Roger Federer on Sunday. He broke into Top 20 of ATP Rankings on 22 October and reached a new career-best of No. 18 this week. But if the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor wins the title, Khachanov will soar into the Top 10.

Did You Know?
Khachanov has been impressive on return in two consecutive matches against Top 10 players. Against Thiem, the Russian won 51 per cent (28/55) of return points, and in the quarter-finals against Zverev, he captured 56 per cent (38/68) of return points.

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2yPrel7