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Karen Khachanov will play in the Roland Garros fourth round for the sixth time from seven trips to Paris! Karen faced Thanasi Kokkinakis in the third round on Court Simonne-Mathieu and prevailed 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 in three hours and 42 minutes, coming from 5-3 down in the fourth set and erasing a set point to avoid a decider and more drama.
The Aussie lost the ground behind the second serve, battling hard and defending 12 out of 17 break points. However, it was enough for Khachanov to seal the deal, playing against seven break points and giving serve away four times.
The Russian fired 48 winners and 36 unforced errors, taming his strokes nicely and overpowering the rival's 43-53 ratio. Thanasi forged a slight edge in the shortest range up to four strokes, and Karen erased that deficit in the mid-range and most advanced exchanges.
The Aussie was off to a better start, serving well in the opening three games and earning a break for 4-2.
Karen Khachanov overpowered Thanasi Kokkinakis in four sets at Roland Garros.
Khachanov sprayed a backhand error in the third game to drop serve and push the rival in front.
The Russian pulled the break back in the eighth game after the Aussie's wild forehand and held at 15 in the next one to open a 5-4 gap. Thanasi lost the ground and faced more issues in the tenth game while serving to stay in the set.
Karen created four set points and converted the last when his rival placed a forehand wide to wrap up the opener 6-4 in 53 minutes. With a boost on his side, Khachanov served well in the second set and kept the pressure on the other side.
Karen broke Thanasi in the second game and missed four more break points in game four. The Russian landed a backhand down the line winner in the sixth game to move 5-1 in front and closed the set with a service winner in the next one to build a massive advantage.
Both players served well for 3-3 in the third set, and Kokkinakis saved a break point in the seventh game. He forced Khachanov's mistake in the next one to grab a break and open a 5-3 gap. Thanasi held at 30 in game nine to wrap up the set and prolong his chances.
With a boost on his side, the Aussie grabbed a break at the start of the fourth set and produced four comfortable holds for a 5-3 advantage, looking good to force a decider. Karen served well after that loose service games and had one more chance to prolong the set on the return at 4-5.
Thanasi wasted a set point with a loose forehand and sprayed a slice error to lose serve and bring Karen back to 5-5. The set went into a tie break, and the Russian fell 4-1 behind. Khachanov claimed the following two points on the return and moved 5-4 up with a forehand winner.
Karen grabbed the fifth straight point for 6-4 and two match points. Kokkinakis saved the first before Khachanov sealed the deal at 6-5 with a volley winner at the net that sent him into the last 16.