Google News Karen Khachanov advises Stefanos Tsitsipas what to do before Novak Djokovic AO final
by DZEVAD MESIC
Karen Khachanov jokingly suggested Stefanos Tsitsipas should probably give a call to Daniil Medvedev and ask him how to beat the Serb in a Grand Slam final. On Friday, Tsitsipas defeated Khachanov 7-6 (2) 6-4 6-7 (6) 6-3 to progress into the Australian Open final.
In the Australian Open final, Tsitsipas will be facing Djokovic. In the 2021 US Open final, Medvedev beat Djokovic in three sets to win his first Grand Slam title. "Maybe Stefanos has to call to Daniil to ask him what he did that day," Khachanov said, per the Australian Open website.
Khachanov proud of his run despite the Tsitsipas defeat
Khachanov, 26, made back-to-back Grand Slam semifinals at the US Open and Australian Open. Even though Khachanov again fell just a win short from reaching a Grand Slam final, he refused to be negative.
"I would say I did it second time in a row, consecutive semifinals, I would definitely [leave] with my head [held] high," Khachanov said. Khachanov has never had any success against Tsitsipas. Going into their Australian Open match, Tsitsipas had a 5-0 head-to-head against Khachanov.
Now, Tsitsipas leads their head-to-head 6-0. But 26-year-old Khachanov believes the right thing in this situation is to take lessons and do better next time. "Always you need to take some lessons, to take something, some experience, to move forward, to improve.
There is no draw unfortunately in our sport - one guy has to win and to go through. Hopefully I [will] keep believing that I can pass this step next time, if I am in this situation," Khachanov added. For Khachanov, it was a good Australian swing.
Khachanov kicked off his 2023 season at the Adelaide International 1, where he made the quarterfinal before losing to Medvedev. The following week, Khachanov competed in Adelaide 2 - he again lost in the quarterfinal. After back-to-back Adelaide quarterfinals, Khachanov made his first Australian Open semifinal.