TennisSection previews the 2022 Rome Open as StefanosTsitsipas takes on Karen Khachanov in the third round on Thursday, May 12th, 2022.
Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas withstood his first acid test against Grigor Dimitrov. He will now need to establish a brick-wall defense to fend off Karen Khachanov as the pair clash in an intriguing third-round meeting at the Rome Open.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Grigor Dimitrov decided to turn it on, on Wednesday and it was a breathless second-round match at the Rome Open that left the fans inside the Grandstand Arena on the edge of their seats. Tsitsipas led 6-3 5-4 and was serving for the match. Having beaten Dimitrov in each of their last two meetings on the clay this season, he appeared on course to post another straight-sets win over the Bulgarian. But the drama would only get started as Dimitrov broke back to love. He won three more games after that, Tsitsipas winning none, and forcing a decider. In the third set, none of the two players dropped serve, with Tsitsipas showing his mental fortitude when he faced multiple match points on serve. He saved two of them with some excellent serving to force a tiebreak which he would win 7-4.
Karen Khachanov, meanwhile, eliminated 15th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in three sets. In a match that lasted two hours and five minutes, it was Khachanov who showed a little more consistency than his opponent to book his spot in the third round of the Rome Open. The Russian overcame a second-set blip to record a 6-4 2-6 6-1 win in a seesaw affair. Prior to this week, Khachanov had only won two matches in three visits to Rome, but has already garnered the same number in an as many days. Can he reach the quarterfinals?
Stefanos Tsitsipas leads Karen Khachanov by a whopping 4-0 in their head-to-head. In as much as the Russian has an abundance of power in his forehand, this has been a daunting matchup for him. Tsitsipas’ ability to control and change the pace of the ball is such a smart strategy to combat the Russian’s biggest strengths. This explains why Khachanov has won just one set in four meetings because he just cannot play to his stengths. I do expect the Greek to come through again, but this time in an evenly balanced match.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Stefanos Tsitsipas to win in 3 sets.
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