Thiem praises Khachanov: "Breakthrough only a matter of time"
Dominic Thiem and Karen Khachanov duel for coveted trophies at tournaments around the world. Nevertheless, the "Dominator" finds words of praise for his Russian opponent.
by Max Kisanyik
last edit: Dec 27, 2018, 02:25 pm
The last duel between Austria's number one Dominic Thiem and the Russian NextGen star went clearly to the younger of the two players. During his dream run at the Paris Masters, the 22-year-old's biggest career success so far, Khachanov gave no chance in the Paris semi-final Thiem.
With 6: 4 and 6: 1, the strong Russian swept across the Lower Austria with hard blows. That should be the beginning of the end for Thiem's hopes of attending the finals for the first time in the French metropolis. Russia's "Young Gun" beat Novak Djokovic, the world's number one, in the final and caused a sensation.
Thiem von Khachanov excited
Among other things, Khachanov is now receiving high praise from his double partner from 2017. “It was only a matter of time before he (Khachanov, editor's note) made the big breakthrough. He has no weaknesses. He is a tall player with powerful basics. He actually won a little too few tournaments, but it's great that he ended the year in 11th place, ”said Thiem during the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi at the Khaleej Times .
Some top stars, including Thiem, Khachanov, Rafael Nadal and Kevin Anderson, come together in the desert state and usher in the new season with an exhibition event.
Thiem did not miss it and predicted a great season for his 22-year-old opponent in the coming year 2019 and sees Khachanov in the illustrious circle of the top 10 players: "He will definitely be in the top 10 in 2019!"
Austria's number one gets a chance to make amends in Abu Dhabi and meets the Russians in the first game after the winter break. The balance between number eight in the world and the world number 11 from Russia speaks for Berach victory for Khachanov. In the second duel of the stars of the coming generation, Thiem can compensate.
Khachanov sends a declaration of war to competition
The Russian bristling with self-confidence will not make it easy for the Lichtenwörther. In Abu Dhabi, Khachanov was very self-confident and sent a challenge to the competition: “It's great that I can play against players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic and keep up. I used to watch them on TV, now I'm fighting them on the court. I'm very happy with my game and development. ”
You have to believe in yourself and work to get better and be a better person. Hopefully with this attitude I can reach the next level.
The young Russian, for example, demonstrated at the US Open that Khachanov can more than keep up with the giants of the tour when he played one of the best matches of the year against Rafael Nadal and only barely lost. In the final in Paris-Bercy, however, luck was on the side of the 22-year-old and Khachanov ended the winning streak of the apparently invincible Djokovic.
In 2019, tennis fans around the world can look forward to more great Russian matches - starting with the duel against Thiem in Abu Dhabi.