Karen Khachanov is presented for the third time by the National Bank Open presented by Rogers Semi-Finales after a 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory against Alex Michelsen on Monday evening. The 11th seed, which reached that phase at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 in 2018 and 2019, is the seventh man who reached three or more half Tjis this century.
The 29-year-old linked his deepest tournament runs of the 2025 season after he was developed to the last four in Barcelona and Halle. He will then be confronted with top seeds Alexander Zverev while he offers to reach his second career -Masters 1000 -final; He won the Rolex Paris Masters title in 2018.
“Very close, very competitive competition,” Khachanov rated. “I had some advantages, then I was suddenly down and stood for a set of point on my serve. I served well, two portions.
“Those are the moments, always in a tennis match, you try to overcome … How to get out of this situation mentally is very important, so I am really happy and proud that I could close it in the second set at the end.”
After both players have escaped 0/40 in a dramatic second set, Khachanov saved two set points on 4-5 with large portions and won the last five points of the Tie-Break by professionally combining. The victory levels of the Lexus ATP Head2head series of the couple at 1-1 and Khahanov earns a degree of revenge after his loss of the straight sets in the third round of the Australian Open.
“The circumstances are different in Australia … different balls, different surfaces, the ball slides more through the air,” said the 11th seed, which neutralized the large backhand by Michelsen by attacking that wing with his own backhand. “So maybe I played with less spider, more flatter, did not try to give him opportunities to step into the field and fall on. That is what I really did well today.”
A total of 18 breaking points were offered in the Toronto Evening Showdown, where Khachanov saved six out of seven and Michelsen those nine out of 11 fights, according to Infosys ATP statistics. Khachanov dominated on first serve and won 85 percent (40/47) of his points behind his first delivery.
In three places to no. 13 in the PIF ATP Live rankings, Khachanov would re -introduce the top 10 with the title. He is 8-1 in his last nine games, dating from the beginning of his quarter-final run by Wimbledon.
The 20-year-old Michelsen competed in the first Masters 1000 quarter finals of his career, but was denied his seventh and largest ATP Tour Semi final.
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