US Open: Karen Khachanov - every jubilee year at the front again
Karen Khachanov is surprisingly in the semifinals of the US Open 2022. The great performances of the Russian are sporadic.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Sep 08, 2022, 01:13 pm
Karen Khachanov as a semi-finalist of the US Open had to be considered first: there was really nothing during the 2022 season that the Russian would start a deep run in New York City, crowned for the time being with the five-set win against Nick Kyrgios in the night session on Tuesday. Well, in the very first tournament of the year in Adelaide, Khachanov was in the final, but lost to Gael Monfils there. After that, the semi-final in Doha was the maximum for the 26-year-old from Moscow.
But somehow, over the past few years, you have almost had to adjust to the fact that Karen Khachanov has achieved great things out of nowhere. Who doesn't remember his run at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris-Bercy in 2018, where Khachanov successively defeated Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic in the final? And that without losing a sentence. The title defense a year later was no longer an issue after the first round defeat against Jan-Lennard Struff.
Ruud with the confidence of Kyrgios
The next really big sign of life after Paris-Bercy was two and a half years away. Then Khachanov stormed to the final at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, but lost there to a great Alexander Zverev 1: 6 and 3: 6.
And now the first semi-final at a major. Notably, along the way, Khachanov defeated two players who arrived in New York City in fine form: Montreal champion Pablo Carreno Busta and, of course, Kyrgios, who had won the title in Washington.
The task in the preliminary round? Casper Ruud brings the tenacity of Carreno Busta and the confidence of Kyrgios. And a successful experience that Khachanov wants to make on Friday: entering a Grand Slam final. The Norwegian had succeeded in Roland Garros this spring.
Here the individual tableau in New York
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