Karen Khachanov will play the fourth round for the third consecutive time at a Grand Slam tournament, after beating Frances Tiafoe.
Before their third-round match in Melbourne, both seeded players showed solid tennis at the first major of the season, as the American was yet to lose a match in 2023, as he won five matches at the United Cup and two more at the Australian Open.
The match was highly competitive from start to finish, with both players showing their skill and determination on the court. In the first set, Khachanov took an early lead, by breaking his opponent already in the second game, and never looked back. After he comfortably held his every serve since then, he won the first set 6-3.
The second set was also dominated by Khachanov, who won 6-4. This time, the American broke back once, but his opponent still managed to get one break ahead and win the set.
In the third set, Tiafoe fought back and won 6-3, giving him a chance to force the match into a fifth set. He didn't allow the Russian to have any break points in this set, and things were looking promising for Tiafoe.
However, Khachanov was able to regroup and took the fourth set to a tiebreak. The tie-break was a nail-biting affair, as Tiafoe had five set points and led 6-1, before the Russian started coming back.
However, in the end, it was Khachanov who emerged victorious, winning the tiebreak 9-7 and the match 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(9).
Khachanov's performance in the match was impressive, as he hit a total of 52 winners and only made 27 unforced errors. He also served well, winning 70% of his first serve points and 54% of his second serve points. Tiafoe, on the other hand, hit 65 winners and made 52 unforced errors.
This was a big win for Khachanov, who will want to follow up on his semifinal run from the US Open last year. In the next round, he will play against the 31st-seeded Yoshihito Nishioka.
For Tiafoe, this loss will be a disappointment, as he had been playing well in the tournament up to this point. However, he should be proud of his efforts in the match and will look to come back stronger in the future.
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