TennisSection previews the 2021 Marseille Open as Karen Khachanov meets Matthew Ebden (Q) in the Quarter-Final on Thursday, March 11 2021.
Will Karen Khachanov continue to put on extremely solid performances here in Marseille, continuing on from his superb run to the Quarter-Finals last week at the Rotterdam Open? Will the qualifier, Matthew Ebden, be able to cause what would be a very big upset and the biggest win of his career so far? Both players are in superb form at the moment, but only one will come out on top. Who will it be?
Matthew Ebden put on a great performance in the second round here in Marseille, beating the favourite Emil Ruusuvuori in straight sets 6-2/6-2. Ebden is not a very well known player on the ATP Tour, and mainly focuses his time on the Challenger Tour. Ebden came through qualifying here in Marseille, and he has put on very solid performances to now make his way to the Quarter-Finals. Ebden can definitely ruffle some feathers against some very strong players, but can he do the same against the World No.21, and a former Top 10 player, Karen Khachanov? If he is to, he will have to start this match aggressively and not let go of any opportunity he is handed. Will Ebden be able to cause the upset here and book a spot in the Semi-Finals of the 2021 Marseille Open?
Karen Khachanov has been playing some superb tennis as of recent, looking more and more like his former peak which we saw in 2018. Khachanov reached the Quarter-Finals of the 2021 Rotterdam Open just last week and put on an incredible display in a very tight 3-set defeat against Stefanos Tsitsipas. When Khachanov is in form and confident in his game, he just puts more effort in his game, and you can definitely tell the difference in both the way he plays and the results he delivers when he is confident. Khachanov put on a dominant display in the second round here in Marseille, beating the American Mackenzie McDonald in 7-6(2)/6-4. Karen knows that he should at least be making the Semi-Finals here where is more likely than not going to meet his fellow Russian Daniil Medvedev. Will Khachanov continue to impress, or will an upset occur?
This is going to be the second meeting between both players, with Karen Khachanov leading the head to head 1-0 against Matthew Ebden. The last time they met was during Karen Khachanov’s peak, when he won the 2018 Paris Masters 1000. Khachanov took the first set 6-2, before Ebden had to retire due to injury early in the second set. I think that Karen Khachanov is continuously improving and demonstrating to everyone that he should be feared when met on the tennis court. Karen will need to show consistency over the next few months, and I am sure if he is able to, there is going to be no limit to what he can achieve in ATP 250 and 500 tournaments in 2021. Karen Khachanov to win in straight sets.
Free Tennis Preview and Prediction: Karen Khachanov in Two Sets.
