Karen Khachanov, Andrey Rublev reflect on their first round wins in Rotterdam

Russian world No. 17 Karen Khachanov was in positive spirit after earning his first-ever win in Rotterdam. 

The unseeded Russian made a good start to his fourth Rotterdam campaign as he beat No. 5 seed Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-3. 

Khachanov broke Fognini twice in each set and lost his serve once in the first set en route to claiming a straight-set win. 

The Russian plays next against Daniel Evans, who beat qualifier Philipp Kohlschreiber.

"There was not much rhythm at the beginning, but later on we started to play more rallies. I try to take it as a positive win," Khachanov said, per the tournament's Twitter account.

Meanwhile, Khachanov's fellow compatriot Andrey Rublev also got off to a winning start in Rotterdam. 

Rublev, who has already won two titles this season, beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-2 6-3. 

The head-to-head between the two now stands at 2-2. 

"We’ve had some tough battles in the past so I knew it was going to be tough. I’m just happy I’m through," Rublev said after the match. 

Seventh-seeded Rublev plays next against Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2UKytH1