Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov after a long break received a real opportunity to win a steep title. But the final of the Canadian Masters ended with a dramatic defeat for our tennis player.

Historical record

Varvenko Khachanov did not delight the fans with successful performances on the “thousands”. The last time he went to the final at this level tournaments in 2018. Then Karen submitted to Masters in Paris, where in two sets he figured out the formidable Novak Jokovic.

Since then, performances have not been so successful. But our player gained good shape to the Toronto tournament, which confirmed in the semifinals, defeating the first seeded Alexander Zverev. True, for the victory I had to leave a lot of effort on the court. The three -hour match lasted nearly three hours and ended with the victory of the Russian with a score of 6: 3, 4: 6, 7: 6 (7: 4).

In the final, Karen had to play with Ben Shelton, who had never defeated the “thousands”. The 22-year-old American is now at the peak of forms and deservedly included in the top 10 ATP rating. Yes, and in Toronto Ben came with an incredible mood.

– This week I saw so many significant improvements in my game, and this pleases me very much. I have something to be proud of, I defeated two players from the top 10. This is a huge achievement for me, ”shelton said after reaching the final.

Ben Shelton / Photo: © Anadolu / Contributor / Anadolu / Gettyimages.ru

Grueling battle in the final

At the beginning of the game, Khachanov looked more convincing than the opponent, despite the hardest match against Zverev the day before. Ben kept only at the expense of a very powerful presentation. Karen could not adapt to the cunning rotations of the American left -hander for a long time. Hence the absence of even a hint of Break Punts, despite the catastrophically bad game of Shelton in long draws.

Only in the seventh game, the “gun” Shelton failed to fail. Karen chose the perfect moment to impose a fight and make an important break. With a score of 5: 4, the Russian submitted to the set, but it did not work out immediately to pick up the most important segment, the American made a reverse break. The struggle for the party ended in a tie-break, where the nerves were stronger than our athlete-7: 6 (7: 5).

The second batch Karen also began more confidently. It seemed to be a stone’s throw to the title. Yes, the Russian did not earn a single Break Point to the eighth game, but looked more preferable, making less mistakes. With a score of 4: 4, he gave his feed, but did not quit fighting, and the next game turned around for him with a real drama. Khachanov could make a reverse break, but missed the advantage from the account 0:40 to submit an American. Thanks to this, Ben took the batch – 6: 4.

Before the decisive segment, two medications gathered at once near the shelter bench. One made the American thigh massage, and the other supplied painkillers at the request of the tennis player. Apparently, the drugs did their job because Ben began to play with renewed vigor. The US representative took most of the game at its presentation without much resistance.

Khachanov was also good even without pills. It is not surprising that the tennis players finished it to a tie-break, although the Russian led with a score of 6: 5 before the beginning of the 12th game. Unfortunately, at the decisive moment shelton was unconditionally better. He succeeded almost everything at the presentation and at the reception. Karen had no chance of victory. The American took the party with a score of 7: 6 (7: 3).

– I played tennis six hours in the last two days. Honestly, I’m tired. First of all, I would like to congratulate Ben and his team. I wish you all the best. You are one of the most pleasant guys on the tour. You have a wonderful family, polite, educated people. Your father, mother, your whole family. Congratulations! – said Karen after the defeat.

Unfortunately, Khachanov was left without a cherished title, but Masters in Toronto added 600 points to him in the ranking. Now Karen is not enough only 20 points to become the best tennis player among Russians.