Struggling Karen Khachanov takes Munich wild card, seeking form and wins
Entering the last season from just inside the top-50, Karen Khachanov forged his way towards three ATP titles and 46 wins in total, including Paris Masters where he grabbed four straight triumphs over top-10 players to grab a huge title and move closer to the place in the top-10 ahead of 2019. Everyone thought the next step would come in the first couple of months of the new year but we are yet to see the best from the 22-year-old Russian in 2019, scoring just seven wins in 15 matches, two of those in Davis Cup that carries no ATP points.
Stan Wawrinka toppled him at the beginning of Doha and Roberto Bautista Agut was the one who ousted the Russian in the third round of Melbourne, followed by a miserable run in February as well. Matteo Berrettini prevailed over Khachanov in Sofia while world no. 211 Tallon Griekspoor delivered one of his best wins in the first round of Rotterdam, leaving Karen empty-handed once again. Nikoloz Basilashvili let him only five games in Doha for the third straight defeat before a better run at Indian Wells where Karen reached the quarter-final, pushing Rafael Nadal to the limits in a 7-6, 7-6 loss after two hours and 16 minutes.
Instead of taking the positive notes from the desert run, Karen was back on the losing trail shortly after, with Jordan Thompson taking him out in the second round of Miami and a qualifier Lorenzo Sonego who ousted the struggling Russian at the first step in Monte Carlo. With five wins from five ATP tournaments in 2019 so far, Karen has decided to take the wild card for the ATP 250 BMW Open in Munich in two weeks time, joining Alexander Zverev, Marco Cecchinato, Kyle Edmund and hoping to build the confidence before the remaining Masters 1000 events on clay in Madrid and Rome.
Karen will compete in Barcelona next week and travel to Munich after that, making a debut in Bavaria as the 2nd seed behind the two-time defending champion Alexander Zverev. Karen is yet to win an ATP title on clay, scoring 25 wins from 43 matches on the slowest surface so far and never reaching the semi-final, although he played in the fourth round of Roland Garros in the last two seasons.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2PisFiY
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