In the second round, Karen Khachanov will face Nishesh Basavareddy, whom he already knows how to beat: at last year's US Open, the Russian defeated him 3:1, controlling the match for almost the entire time.
Karen Khachanov
Karen Khachanov tends to start well at the Australian Open: for nine seasons in a row he has not been eliminated in the first round, and on seven occasions he has gone beyond the second. On hard courts, the Russian feels comfortable, with a 60% career win rate. It is particularly important that he has improved mentally: he is calmer in the closing stages of sets and maintains his concentration after losing games. However, it is unlikely to be straightforward for him, as in 11 of his last 12 matches on different surfaces he has dropped at least one set.
Nishesh Basavareddy
Nishesh Basavareddy is known as an aggressive attacking player who tries to finish rallies within three shots. He recently started working with Gilles Cervara, the former coach of Daniil Medvedev, which has added discipline and tactical variety to his game. However, in the first round he had a tough five-setter against Christopher O'Connell – four hours on court and only 57% first-serve accuracy. Even in the qualifying rounds in Melbourne, the American was unconvincing: he almost went out against Sebastian Ofner and in two of his three matches he dropped a set to his opponent.
Karen Khachanov vs Nishesh Basavareddy Prediction
In such situations, Karen Khachanov tends to play pragmatically: he protects his serve, varies the tempo intelligently and forces opponents into errors. In his previous meeting with Nishesh Basavareddy, the Russian allowed him to take a set, but over the distance he was in full control. Given his current level and a successful start to the tournament, he should be able to close out this match confidently.
