3rd seed Stefanos Tsitsipas locks horns with 18th seed Karen Khachanov in the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open on Friday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
The 24-year-old has reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the fourth time in his career. Tsitsipas has been in sublime form and won four out of his five matches at the Australian Open in straight sets.
In the first round, Tsitsipas got the better of Quentin Halys in straight sets. He followed it up with a convincing with against Rinky Hijikata in the second round 6-3, 6-0, 6-2. Tallon Griekspoor, who came into the tournament after winning the 2023 Maharashtra Open, faced Tsitsipas in the third round. The match ended 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in favor of the world No. 4. Tsitsipas had to sweat hard in his fourth-round clash against Jannik Sinner. The former won the first couple of sets but Sinner made a strong comeback to push the match into the fifth set. The match eventually ended 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3. In the quarterfinals, Tsitsipas managed to beat the talented Jiri Lehecka in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4.
Karen Khachanov
The 26-year-old has reached his second consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. He made it to the semis in the US Open last year and now he has managed to reach his first Australian Open semifinal.
Khachanov registered a thumping win against Khachanov in the first round. In the second round, the 18th seed defeated Australia’s Jason Kubler in four sets 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. 16th seed Frances Tiafoe and a semifinalist at the 2022 US Open faced Khachanov in the third round. The Russian star managed to win the match in four sets with a gritty effort in the last set. Khachanov annihilated the talented Japanese star Yoshihito Nishioka in the fourth round 6-0, 6-0, 7-6 (7-4). In the quarterfinals, Khachanov faced an in-form Sebastian Korda. The first set was tight but Khachanov won. The second set was won convincingly by Khachanov. In the third set, Khachanov was leading 3-0 when Korda retired owing to a wrist injury.
Head-to-Head and Prediction
Stefanos Tsitsipas has a comfortable 5-0 lead against Karen Khachanov in the head-to-head scoreline. The Greek star came back from a set down to defeat Khachanov in the 2022 Italian Open.
Prediction: Stefanos Tsitsipas to win in five sets.
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