Miami [US], March 31 : Karen Khachanov advanced to the semifinals of the Miami Open on Thursday after he moved past Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 6-2.
The 26-year-old swiftly bounced back after losing a break in the opening set to guarantee that the rest of the match was one-way traffic. After 75 minutes, the big-hitting 14th seed secured his victory by slamming 18 wins and driving the ball through the nimble court to force Cerundolo into mistakes.
After making 22 unforced errors, the 24-year-old Cerundolo was unable to defeat Khachanov and advance to the final four once more.
Before making it to the semifinals in Toronto in 2019, Khachanov won his lone ATP Masters 1000 championship in Paris in 2018. When he takes on Dil Medvedev in the semifinal match, he will continue his quest for his sixth tour-level championship and first since Paris five years ago.
"At the end of the day it was a question of finding rhythm. At the beginning, it was pretty windy and I couldn't figure out where the wind was coming through. I then started to hit through the ball more and then I felt better and better. After I broke him back I felt I was on a good rise and felt that I could not miss. That is a good feeling to have during a match," ATP.com quoted Khachanov as saying.
"I think I have improved my mentality and self-belief a lot. I am enjoying the process. I think the results speak for themselves and I am happy it is paying off," he added.
"We grew up together and every time I play against Dil or Andrey [Rublev], it is not easy because we are good friends. But on the court we are rivals. We played in Adelaide this year and he beat me pretty solid, so I will try to approach this match differently," Khachanov said ahead to his match against Medvedev.
Khachanov is up five spots to No. 11 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and will jump back into the Top 10 if he wins the title. Earlier this season, he advanced to the semi-finals at the Australian Open.
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