Karen Khachanov (US Open Tennis - Twitter)
The Russian tennis pro – Karen Khachanov overcame the odds and produced a dogged display to oust an in-form Nick Kyrgios in the quarterfinals of the US Open.
Karen Khachanov won the first and third sets but Kyrgios kept fighting and pushed the match into the fifth set. The 26-year-old Khachanov managed to get the better of the Australian in the fifth set to reach his first semifinal at a major.
“I did it! I did it!,” Khachanov said in his post-match interview. “It was a crazy match but I came ready to fight and to play five sets.
“I was expecting it would be like this. I was ready to run, to fight, to play five sets. We played for almost four hours [three hours and 39 minutes]. That’s the only way to beat Nick, I think.”
Both men hit a combined 61 aces during the match with Kyrgios hitting 31 and 30 from Khachanov. The closely-fought encounter at the Arthur Ashe Stadium was thoroughly enjoyed by the fans.
Khachanov has defeated the likes of Denis Kudla, Thiago Monteiro, and Pablo Carreno Busta in the first, second, and fourth rounds. In the third round, Jack Draper had to retire mid-match owing to an injury.
Khachanov will take on World No. 7 Casper Ruud in the semifinal at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Norwegian defeated Matteo Berrettini in straight sets in the quarterfinals to reach his first US Open semifinal.
Let’s take a look at how tennis fans on Twitter reacted following Karen Khachanov’s hard-fought win against Nick Kyrgios.
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