Rotterdam Open 2022: Cameron Norrie vs Karen Khachanov preview, head to head and prediction
Match Details
Fixture: (6) Cameron Norrie vs Karen Khachanov.
Tournament: Rotterdam Open.
Round: Second Round (Round of 16).
Venue: Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Indoor hard.
Prize money: €1,208,315.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Cameron Norrie vs Karen Khachanov preview
Sixth seed Cameron Norrie faces Karen Khachanov in the second round of the Rotterdam Open on Wednesday.
Following an impressive 2021 during which he won the Indian Wells Masters, the Brit has endured a poor start to 2022. Norrie lost all of his singles matches at the ATP Cup and also suffered a first-round exit at the hands of Sebastian Korda at the Australian Open.
The 26-year-old entered the Rotterdam Open as the sixth seed and beat Ugo Humbert 6-2, 6-4 in the first round to seal his first win of 2022.
Sealing his 1st singles win of 2022 🙌
@cam_norrie powers past Ugo Humbert 6-2, 6-4 in Rotterdam
#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 https://t.co/Maei7DAvsz
Meanwhile, Khachanov started 2022 at the Adelaide International 1 and received a bye to the second round as he was seeded second in the tournament. The Russian beat Steve Johnson, Egor Gerasimov and Marin Cilic to reach the final, but lost to Gael Monfils in the summit clash.
Khachanov then entered the Adelaide International 2 as the third seed and reached the quarterfinals. The 25-year-old was beaten by eventual runner-up Arthur Rinderknech in the last eight.
The Russian was seeded 28th at the Australian Open and beat Denis Kudla in the first round after coming back from a set down. He then defeated Benjamin Bonzi in straight sets to reach the third round of the tournament for the fourth successive year.
Khachanov lost to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in four sets in the third round. However, his ranking rose from 30th to 27th following the conclusion of the Australian Open.
The Russian faced Australia's Alexei Popyrin in the first round of the Rotterdam Open and the latter took the first set 7-6. However, Khachanov bounced back to take the second set 6-1 before winning the third set 7-6 to reach the second round of the tournament.
Khachanov comes through 👊
@karenkhachanov saves a match point to defeat Popyrin 6-7 6-1 7-6 in their Rotterdam meeting!
#abnamrowtt https://t.co/F4TersipKV
Cameron Norrie vs Karen Khachanov head to head
Wednesday's match in Rotterdam will be the fifth meeting between the two with the head-to-head tied at 2-2. All four matches between Norrie and Khachanov took place last year with the first of those coming in the second round of the Rotterdam Open. Khachanov won that match 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals.
Norrie beat Khachanov in their next two matches in Barcelona and Lyon before the the Russian won at the Toronto Masters.
Cameron Norrie vs Karen Khachanov prediction
Wednesday's match between Norrie and Khachanov promises to be an exciting one. The two are level on the head-to-head but Khachanov has won both of their meetings on hard courts, including one in Rotterdam last year.
The Russian also has a relatively better record on the surface. He has a win percentage of 64% since 2021 (32 wins out of 50), which is marginally better than Norrie's 61.4% (35 wins out of 57).
However, the Brit has had some very good moments on hard courts over the past 12 months, including winning his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells.
Khachanov will no doubt be keen to make the most out of his strong serve and forehand. Given the Russian's powerful serve, breaking him will not be easy. However, Norrie is a solid counter-puncher and can cope with Khachanov's aggression.
The Russian does not have a strong net game and his opponent could exploit that by drawing him forward with short balls and slices.
Khachanov will no doubt put up a tough fight but Norrie should be able to beat him and reach the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam Open.
Prediction: Cameron Norrie to win in three sets.
Also Check Out: Rotterdam Open 2022 Results