Lyon Open 2021: Richard Gasquet vs Karen Khachanov preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: Richard Gasquet vs (8) Karen Khachanov
Date: 21 May 2021
Tournament: Lyon Open 2021
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: Lyon, France
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Red clay
Prize money: €419,470
Match timing: Approx. 2.30 pm local time, 12.30 pm GMT, 8.30 am EST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport
Richard Gasquet vs Karen Khachanov preview
Richard Gasquet secured a spot in his first quarterfinal of the season with a straight-sets victory over third seed Diego Schwartzman. Awaiting the Frenchman in the last eight is Russia's Karen Khachanov, who eased to a straight-sets win over Kamil Majchrzak.
Khachanov seems to have hit his stride in Lyon after a difficult start to the claycourt season. The Russian has managed to come through a couple of hard-fought encounters and will be keen to carry that momentum into the business end of the tournament.
Richard Gasquet vs Karen Khachanov head-to-head
This will be the first career meeting between Richard Gasquet and Karen Khachanov, so their current head-to-head stands at 0-0.
Richard Gasquet vs Karen Khachanov prediction
Both Richard Gasquet and Karen Khachanov have struggled to find their best tennis this season and the match could swing in favor of the player who keeps the unforced errors in check.
Gasquet, when he finds his groove, can trouble the best of players with his clean ball striking - especially off the backhand wing.
The match is unlikely to feature too many long rallies as both players will look to take control of the points from the get-go.
Gasquet's relative lack of match practice heading into Friday's clash could ultimately prove to be the deciding factor if things go down to the wire.
Prediction: Karen Khachanov to win in three sets.