Australian Open R2 preview and prediction: Del Potro vs. Khachanov

Juan Martin Del Potro and Karen Khachanov will bee going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time already this season when they meet again in round two of the Australian Open on Thursday. In a quarterfinal contest last week in Auckland, Del Potro got the job done 7-6(4), 6-3.

The 10th-ranked Argentine also beat Denis Shapovalov and David Ferrer in straight sets before losing the final to Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. After restring for just two days before taking kicking off his Australian Open campaign, Del Potro impressively bounced back to make mostly routine work of Frances Tiafoe via a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. By contrast, Bautista Agut flamed out against fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in straight sets only two days after winning the Auckland title.

 “I felt pressure to win this kind of match against the next generation, because I’m older,” Del Potro said after defeating Tiafoe.

A similar matchup is is on tap for Thursday. Just slightly older than the 19-year-old Tiafoe at 21, Khachanov features a similarly powerful game with especially big serves and forehands. This is not a good matchup for the Russian, as the recent Auckland result suggests. These two players bring the same kind of game style to the court, but there is not one particular shot that Khachanov executes better than his Del Potro. The 2009 champion, on the other hand, enjoys a sizable edge in the departments of serve, forehand, and experience. Even his backhand has greatly improved from early last year and he is now able to flatten it out when necessary. That seemed like it might never be the case when Del Potro was sidelined for so long by left-wrist problems that forced him to miss three straight Australian Opens from 2015 through 2017.

“It’s amazing to be back in Melbourne after four years,” the 2009 U.S. Open champion assured. “It’s been a while and I’m happy to be playing tennis again. This tournament is so good; the atmosphere here is unbelievable. I think the people liked my effort to come back and play tennis after three wrist surgeries, and I was close to [quitting] tennis a few years ago. But now I’m here, I’m healthy, I’m playing tennis again. And [the fans] make me feel so happy playing this tournament.”

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