Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov have met twice before, with both encounters coming a few years ago. The Greek player is incredible all round in his game, and I am sure that in 2021, he will reach the Final of many big tournaments, perhaps even some Grand Slams. Tsitsipas has a great one-handed backhand, which is very Federer-like, and his serve is just so big and accurate. The introduction of Tsitsipas in the last couple of years has been great for the game of tennis, as we know we are secure in the hands of many great young players such as Tsitsipas, Zverev, Thiem, Medvedev, and many more! However, if I have to choose one of those players to have the best career out of all of them in the long run, you’d have to think that Tsitsipas is that guy. Tsitsipas came out determined from the get go and he did not lift his foot from the pedal at any time even though he lost the second set. Stefanos Tsitsipas performed extremely well in his second round match, beating Hubert Hurkacz in 3 sets, 6-4/4-6/7-5. Can Khachanov get the job done here and cause what would be a very big upset for him which we have not seen in a very long time? Khachanov is currently ranked 21 st in the world, and Tsitsipas is ranked 6 th. Khachanov will be facing his toughest opponent he has faced in a while in Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday. Khachanov has the game to beat the best players in the world, he just needs to find the confidence within himself to go after his shots and not get down on himself in the tough moments. Khachanov has beaten some big names here already, beating Stan Wawrinka in straight sets in the first round 6-4/7-5, and Cameron Norrie in the second round 6-2/6-2. With many Russians finding a lot of success on the tour, such as Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and even Aslan Karatsev, Karen Khachanov will want to keep up with his compatriots. Khachanov has not been playing his best tennis in a while, but I am sure that the 2021 season is going to be a season where he will be fully focused on getting himself back up the rankings. However, since then, his career and progress has continued to stall. Khachanov peaked in 2018 when he won the 2018 Paris Masters 1000, beating Novak Djokovic in the Final in straight sets. Karen Khachanov has been playing very well here in Rotterdam, which is a definite positive thing to see, especially as he had been lacking a lot of confidence in recent years. Will the tournament favourite, Stefanos Tsitsipas, be able to book his spot in the semi-finals, or will Karen Khachanov come out and reach the levels we have seen him play at before and cause the upset here? Will yet another seed fall short here at the Rotterdam Open with a potential Karen Khachanov upset victory on Friday? Will Stefanos Tsitsipas take this lack of competition as an opportunity to add yet another title to his trophy cabinet? This is definitely going to be a blockbuster match in the quarter-finals with both players playing some great tennis here in Rotterdam. Given that Tsitsipas prefers playing on clay and Khachanov may be slightly drained out from his clash against Pablo Carreno Busta, our prediction is a win in straight sets for Tsitsipas.TennisSection previews the 2021 Rotterdam Open as Stefanos Tsitsipas (2) meets Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals on Friday, March 5 th 2021. The Greek star leads the H2H record 4-0 by winning all four of his matches against the Russian hard court. Khachanov and Tsitsipas have faced each other four times in the past. Image Credits – Tennis World USA Match Details: Date The Russian had to really work hard to get his first two wins at the Italian Open this year and is not going to have it easy against Tsitsipas as well on Thursday. In the first round, Khachanov beat Giulio Zeppieri 6-3, 6-4. Karen Khachanov was involved in a two-hour-and-five-minute battle against Pablo Carreno Busta on Wednesday but made it through to the third round with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 victory. Image Credits – TennisWorldUSA Italian Open 2022 RO 16 preview: Karen Khachanov’s performances so far
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