Canadian Open 2022: Karen Khachanov vs Francisco Cerundolo preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: Karen Khachanov vs Francisco Cerundolo
Tournament: Canadian Open 2022.
Round: First round (Round of 64).
Venue: Montreal, Canada.
Category: ATP Masters 1000.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $5,926,545.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - Sportsnet, TVA Sports | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sports 18.
Karen Khachanov vs Francisco Cerundolo preview
Karen Khachanov will take on Francisco Cerundolo in the first round of the 2022 Canadian Open.
Khachanov has notched up some pretty decent results on hardcourt this year. He started the year by reaching the final of the Adelaide International 1, but lost to Gael Monfils. The following week, he made it to the quarterfinals of another tournament in Adelaide. The Russian lost to Rafael Nadal in the third round of the Australian Open.
Khachanov then made an early exit from the Rotterdam Open, but bounced back by reaching the semifinals of the Qatar Open. At the Dubai Tennis Championships, Novak Djokovic knocked him out in the second round. He then failed to win a match at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters.
Khachanov recently competed at the Citi Open, where he made it to the third round before losing to Yoshihito Nishioka in two tight sets. He's a two-time semifinalist at the Canadian Open and will look to put up another good showing here.
Digging deep under the lights 💪
No. 7 seed @karenkhachanov scores a 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4 comeback over Koepfer to reach the third round!
#CitiOpen
https://t.co/dTVtwgJ8W3
Francisco Cerundolo hasn't competed much on hardcourt this year. His first tournament on the surface was the Adelaide International, where he lost in the first round. However, his run at the Miami Open brought him significant attention.
Cerundolo, ranked No. 103 at the time, defeated players ranked considerably higher than him to reach the semifinals. He started off by winning against Tallon Griekspoor in the first round. The Argentine led Reilly Opelka 6-1, 3-1 before the American retired due to an injury.
Cerundolo then knocked out Gael Monfils in the third round and earned a hard-fought three-set win over Frances Tiafoe afterwards. Against Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, he was 4-1 up in the opening set but the Italian retired due to an injury.
Cerundolo's run came to an end against Casper Ruud, who defeated him in straight sets. The 23-year-old has since risen to a career-high ranking of No. 24 and will now be making his debut at the Canadian Open.
Karen Khachanov vs Francisco Cerundolo head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Karen Khachanov vs Francisco Cerundolo odds
Odds will be added once they're available.
Karen Khachanov vs Francisco Cerundolo prediction
After a good start to the year, Khachanov has been rather inconsistent. His recent outing at the Citi Open wasn't exactly fruitful. World No. 145 Dominik Koepfer pushed him to three sets, while he lost to World No. 96 Yoshihito Nishioka after that.
On the other hand, Cerundolo hasn't proven himself to be a credible threat on hardcourt aside from his Miami Open showing. Most of his best results have been on clay. But the youngster has improved a lot this year. His steady rise to the top would've only instilled more confidence in him.
Cerundolo's forehand has been his primary weapon, and even fetched him a couple of top-10 scalps this year because of it. Khachanov is the better server, but otherwise the two are evenly matched. The Russian blew a comfortable lead during his Citi Open loss, which is starting to happen a lot more these days.
Both are currently ranked in the top 30. Khachanov is a former Masters 1000 champion and due to his experience, has a slight edge here. But it wouldn't be too shocking to see Cerundolo win either.
Pick: Karen Khachanov to win in three sets.