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Rising Russian Karen Khachanov will be out to cause a huge upset in the third round of Wimbledon when he takes on Spaniard Rafael Nadal. Join The Roar for live scores from around 11:30pm (AEST).
Khachanov, just 21 years of age is one of the best young talents on the ATP circuit and is coming off a solid French Open campaign. He has already shot up to No.34 in the world and could well find himself with a seeding at the US Open later in the year.
The Russian had a rough start to 2017, struggling on the hard courts, but the clay court season seemed to bring out the best in him. A quarter-final appearance in Barcelona headlined the events before he made the fourth round at the French Open, going down to Andy Murray.
A semi-final in Halle followed, where he lost to none other than Roger Federer, and his start to Wimbledon has been strong, to say the least. He was pushed hard by Andrey Kuznetsov in the first round, winning a five-set nail-biter, before he got the better of Thiago Moura Monteiro in four sets.
He has improved as each match has gone on, but if the Russian is going to challenge Nadal he must be on his game from the outset.
Nadal, who failed to drop a set during the entire French Open has made a superb start to The Championships. Three weeks off an easy opening draw appears to have served him well.
John Millman was blown off the court in the first round, winning just six games across the three sets before Nadal dominated against Donald Young as well.
Nadal’s form has improved with each passing set, and he hasn’t looked close to being challenged yet, but that could all change here. Khachanov, who is a strong player on grass is leaps and bounds ahead of Nadal’s opponents so far, which could put him under a little bit of pressure.
The Spaniard will need to continue working on his serve, which, even in Paris let him down at times. It always came to the rescue, but on a less preferred surface, he doesn’t want to be put in any sort of compromising position.
The pair have never met before this match and the winner will take on either Alijaz Bedene or Gilles Muller in the fourth round.
Prediction
Nadal should win, but don’t be surprised if Khachanov makes this interesting early in the piece.
Nadal in four sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of the match from 11:30am (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.