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Karen Khachanov surprises at Red Bull BassLine, Misolic with another talent test

Not surprisingly, Karen Khachanov won the second edition of Red Bull BassLine in Vienna. The Austrian Filip Misolic delivered another talent test after initial difficulties.

by PM/red
last edit: Oct 21, 2022, 11:25 pm

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Karen Khachanov was the beaming winner at Red Bull BassLine
© Philipp Carl Riedl / Red Bull Content Pool
Karen Khachanov was the beaming winner at Red Bull BassLine

If the ATP tour stops in Vienna, this is always a guarantee for the best tennis atmosphere. And that's one day before the Erste Bank Open officially begins with the qualification. This was ensured for the second time by the show event Red Bull BassLine, which was held in the tennis tent at Vienna's Heumarkt. 1,500 fans and six world-class players offered entertaining entertainment in an innovative format.

"A perfect event from start to finish," said triumphant Karen Khachanov a few moments after beating Grigor Dimitrov. “The atmosphere was fantastic. The combination of live DJ and light effects made Red Bull BassLine a unique event that has never been experienced before.”

Tennis stars, turntables and enthusiastic spectators

The six invited players competed for victory in a tie-break format, accompanied by live DJ beats in the hall. The two top 10 players Andrey Rublev and Taylor Fritz were among the big favorites to win at Red Bull BassLine - but the challengers of the top duo were tough: Karen Khachanov, Diego Schwartzman and Grigor Dimitrov as well as Filip Misolic showed courage Tennis.

The Austrian, who caused a sensation at the ATP 250 event in Kitzbühel in the summer when he reached the final and was given a wild card for the main draw at the Erste Bank Open, managed another talent test at Heumarkt after initial difficulties. After losing the opening tiebreak against Grigor Dimitrov, Misolic was already 0:3 behind, but then fought hard and had the set equalizer on the racket. In the end, however, the youngster had to bow to the Bulgarian. Dimitrov then played his way to the final.

Khachanov to succeed Alcaraz

In the end, the beaming winner was a surprising one: Karen Khachanov. But the Russian already showed from the first round that he feels very comfortable with this format. At the start, the world number 18 sat down. against Diego Schwartzman with 7:4, 7:3, he also didn't give the US-Boy Taylor Fritz a chance in the semi-final with a 7:3, 7:4 success.

In the final, Karen Khachanov showed against Grigor Dimitrov why he is also a secret favorite at the Erste Bank Open, which is about to start in the Wiener Stadthalle. He was the dominant player in a spectacular best-of-five tie-break format match and put his stamp on the rallies. The fans got involved and turned the tennis tent at Heumarkt into a witch's cauldron.

Grigor Dimitrov got the third tie-break, but Karen Khachanov masterfully countered and didn't let anything go after that. With this world-class performance, he deservedly prevailed 7:5, 7:5, 4:7, 8:6 and was celebrated with standing ovations from the audience. With this triumph, he succeeds Carlos Alcaraz, last year's winner of the Red Bull BassLine and today's No. 1 in tennis.

by PM/red

Saturday
Oct 22, 2022, 07:05 am
last edit: Oct 21, 2022, 11:25 pm