Cincinnati 2020: Karen Khachanov vs Pablo Carreno Busta preview, head-to-head & prediction | Western & Southern Open
Match details
Match: Karen Khachanov vs Pablo Carreno Busta
Date: 24 August 2020
Tournament: Western & Southern Open 2020
Round: Round of 32
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $4,674,780
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Sony Ten 2
Match timing: 1 pm EDT, 10.30 pm IST
Karen Khachanov vs Pablo Carreno Busta preview
World No. 15 Karen Khachanov continues his campaign at the 2020 Cincinnati Masters with a second-round match against Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta.
Khachanov, who beat Alexander Bublik in straight sets in his opener, is now 10-6 for the year ahead of his meeting with Carreno Busta. The Russian player didn't look like he hadn't played a competitive match in over six months as he hit the ground running against Bublik, who opened the pair's first-round meeting with an audacious under-arm serve.
A break in each set sufficed for the 24-year-old as he saw off Bublik to get back on the winning trail. In his last match on tour - the Dubai quarterfinal - Karen Khachanov had gone down tamely to eventual winner Novak Djokovic.
After his win over Bublik, Khachanov talked about the unusual experience of playing in the spectator-less 'bubble' at Flushing Meadows.
"It was my first match in six months, and it was a little bit strange for everyone, with the restrictions and no fans. But you can focus on the tennis. I wasn't expecting to play unbelievably well, but I got the win and am happy to compete again," Khachanov said.
Pablo Carreno Busta, who faces Karen Khachanov for a place in the third round at 2020 Cincinnati, opened his campaign at the tournament with a straight-sets win over Serbia's Dusan Lajovic.
The World No. 25 was on a two-match losing streak after falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening round of Dubai and Felix-Auger Aliassime in the Rotterdam semifinal. He would have been happy to reverse that trend with his solid performance against Lajovic.
Karen Khachanov vs Pablo Carreno Busta head-to-head
Karen Khachanov has won only one of his three tour-level matches against Pablo Carreno Busta, with the latter leading the head-to-head 2-1.
The Russian's victory came in the pair's last meeting - the second round at the 2018 Rogers Cup. The pair's first two clashes also happened in Masters 1000 tournaments, with Carreno Busta emerging victorious in the second round at Monte Carlo 2017 and the first round of the Rogers Cup the same year.
Karen Khachanov vs Pablo Carreno Busta prediction
Both men have won an identical 32 matches in Masters 1000 tournaments so far. However, Carreno Busta has lost more matches (37) in the tournament category compared to Karen Khachanov's tally of 26.
The similarities between the duo don't end there. Both men fell in the Round of 16 in Cincinnati last year, albeit after taking markedly different routes.
Carreno Busta qualified for the main draw before losing to Novak Djokovic in the third round. Karen Khachanov on the other hand fell to Lucas Pouille after a first-round bye.
Despite his losing record against Carreno Busta, Khachanov would fancy his chances on Monday given his solid performance against Bublik in the first round.
Prediction: Karen Khachanov to win in three sets.