Karen Khachanov has achieved a unique achievement, becoming the ninth reigning player in the quarter-finals at all Grand Slams. He will face Sebastian Korda of the United States, who is in excellent form, for the right to play in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. The US representative is a slight favourite, but Khachanov has also shown great tennis in Melbourne, who will win? The match will start on January 24 at 03:00.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #1 – Handicap (-2) for Khachanov – 1.936.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #2 – Total Games Over 38 – 1.66.
Korda is currently playing the best tennis of his career. He beat Hurkacz at the Australian Open and earlier knocked last year’s finalist Medvedev out of the title race, whom he defeated in three sets. However, we don’t believe that he can cope with Karen, who is in excellent form.
The tennis players have met each other three times before. So far, the score in the head-to-head encounter is 2-1 in Korda’s favour. Their last encounter was a tight one, although it ended in two sets. Nevertheless, that match turned out to be a high-scoring one. We expect the upcoming match between Khachanov and Korda to be a tight one as well.
Khachanov had an incredible match in the fourth round against Yoshihito Nishioka (6-0, 6-0, 7-6). Just a smash.
In this match, Khachanov took the first 14 games and led with a score of 6-0, 6-0, and 2-0. According to Karen, he was also in shock, completely unable to understand what was happening.
In the second set, for example, Nishioka only took two points.
Khachanov is now one of only nine reigning players to reach the quarter-finals at all Grand Slam tournaments.
In previous rounds, Khachanov had beaten Bernabe Zapata-Miralles (7-6, 6-2, 6-0), Jason Kubler (6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2) and Frances Tiafoe (6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6).
Khachanov has won five of his last six matches on a hard court.
Korda, meanwhile, reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam for the first time.
Sebastian had two tough matches behind him that showed he could fight for the title.
In the third round, Sebastian defeated Daniil Medvedev (7-6, 6-3, 7-6).
Medvedev after the first set still didn’t know what to do Sebastian made mistakes in games on serve.
In the fourth round, Korda outlasted Hubert Hurkacz in a crazy match (3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6). In the decisive set, the game was absolutely even, until the tie-break, where Hubert made some offensive mistakes.
Korda has won eight of his last nine matches played in Australia.
Type of Court – Hard
Speed of Court – 7/10
Karen Khachanov’s Rating – 20
Karen Khachanov Wins/Losses in 2023 – 7/2
Sebastian Korda’s Rating – 31
Sebastian Korda Wins/Losses in 2023 – 8/1
Korda leads with a score of 2-1 in the head-to-head encounters. The last time they met was at the European Open in 2022. In that match, Korda defeated Khachanov (7-5, 7-6) in two sets.
The match will be played in Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
We recommend checking out the odds for the 2023 Australian Open: Karen Khachanov vs Sebastian Korda at 1xBet and VBET.