Karen Khachanov

Sebastian Korda

American wins and advances to TBS semi-finals in Melbourne

The Australian Open quarter-final match between Karen Khachanov and Sebastian Korda will take place on 24 January. The Russian is currently ranked 20th in the ATP rankings. For the 26-year-old, this is his eighth appearance at the Australian Open, but the first time he will play here in the quarter-finals. What is more, the athlete has never made it past the third round in Melbourne. For example, a year ago he was stopped by eventual winner Rafael Nadal. In the last season Khachanov proved himself well, reaching the semi-finals of the US Open. So the Russian's reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open is no surprise. Moreover, Khachanov showed excellent tennis and mental toughness in Melbourne, which helped him not break down in critical moments of the matches. In the 1/8 final Khachanov played Yoshihito Nishioka. The Japanese offered little or no resistance to the Russian. Karen converted his advantage in anthropometry to beat his faster opponent in the first two sets by a combined score of 12-0 (6-0 and 6-0). The third set ended in a tie-break, but Khachanov did not give Nishioka any chance of a comeback. The effort he saved will be of great help to the Russian in the quarter-final, as it took Sebastian Korda 3.5 hours to break down Pole Hubert Hurkacz. The game was decided in the tie-break of the fifth set. Earlier, Korda had knocked out another top-10 ranked tennis player. After meeting with the American, Daniil Medvedev finished his appearance at the Australian Open. The Russian lost to Korda in three sets (6-7, 3-6, 6-7), after which he compared his style of play to that of Novak Djokovic. Medvedev noted his opponent's strong hitting, early ball meeting and few errors. Korda is the 31st ranked player in the world. This is his second appearance in the Australian Open main draw. The American won two matches in Melbourne last year. Korda has not reached the quarter-finals of the majors before, not only at the TBS but also at the Masters. Sebastian Korda's father won the Australian Open 25 years ago. His son's talent is beyond question. The American will find the weaknesses in Khachanov's game and delight his fans. You can bet on Korda to win.