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Karen Khachanov was glad with the performance he delivered against Mackenzie McDonald in his Dubai opener. Khachanov, seeded at No. 6, overcame McDonald 7-6 (3) 6-3 to progress into the Dubai round-of-16. It was the third meeting between Khachanov and McDonald.
Last year, Khachanov beat McDonald in Marseille and Wimbledon. “Overall I feel it was a great match," Khachanov said in his post-match interview, per the ATP website. "A great performance, I think, from both sides. "I felt I played very good especially in important moments, like in the tie-break in the first set and in the second set when I had opportunities on his serve.
I felt confident after that and kept the advantage until the end of the match”.
Khachanov claims a routine win
Both players firmly held on to their serve as not a single break point was seen in the first set. The two players were tied at three points apiece after the opening six points of the tie-break but then Khachanov won four consecutive points to win the first set.
McDonald had a good chance to make a good start to the second set but he blew three consecutive break points in the second game. After saving three break points in the second game, Khachanov earned the first break of the match in the fifth game.
Khachanov claimed the second break of the match in the ninth game to get the job done in straight sets. Khachanov, ranked at No. 27 in the world, wants to return to the top-10 this year. "My main goal is to be in the top-10, it is not enough for me to be in the top-20.
I know what I have to do to be there, I feel that I belong to that group, but it is a hard and daily process that I want to face. I am very motivated, I made a lot of effort during these last weeks and I will continue to do so in the coming weeks," Khachanov said last month. Khachanov plays next either David Goffin or Emil Ruusuvuori.