US Open 2023: Karen Khachanov vs Michael Mmoh preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (11) Karen Khachanov vs (WC) Michael Mmoh
Date: August 29, 2023
Tournament: US Open 2023
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: New York, United States
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $65,000,000
Live telecast: USA - ESPN | Canada - TSN | UK - Sky Sports | India - Sony Sports
Karen Khachanov vs Michael Mmoh preview
World No. 11 Karen Khachanov will lock horns with Michael Mmoh in the first round of the 2023 US Open on Tuesday.
Khachanov was having a rather good year, but has been sidelined with an injury for the past few months. He made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open at the start of the season and did the same at the Miami Open as well.
Khachanov's clay swing was decent too, which he capped off with a quarterfinal defeat to Novak Djokovic at the French Open. A stress fracture put him out of action since that loss, but he returned to action at the Western & Southern Open.
Khachanov withdrew from singles, but did play in doubles. He won his first match alongside Robin Hasse, but the duo then lost to the second-seeded pairing of Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.
Mmoh failed to get past the qualifying rounds of the Australian Open, but got into the main draw as a lucky loser. He made the most of his second shot and reached the third round there, his best showing at a Major to date.
Mmoh then made it to the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach Open. He was forced to retire midway through his second round contest against Tommy Paul at the Mexican Open due to a leg injury. The American was out of commission for three months.
Mmoh made his comeback at the French Open, but lost to Taylor Fritz in the first round. He made it to the second round of Wimbledon as a lucky loser yet again. The 25-year old then reached the third round of the Citi Open and the Winston-Salem Open.
Karen Khachanov vs Michael Mmoh 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 Michael Mmoh odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Karen Khachanov vs Michael Mmoh prediction
This will be Khachanov's first singles match in almost three months. During this period he has only played a couple of doubles matches. He looked to be in fine shape physically, but doubles is relatively easier on the body, so one can't give an accurate assesment of his conditioning.
Given the disparity between their resumes, Khachanov would've been the favorite against Mmoh under normal circumstances. The Russian has performed quite consistently at the Majors over the last year and has reached at least the quarterfinals of the previous three Grand Slams he competed in.
Mmoh is a tricky player to contend with and is no stranger to knocking out higher-ranked players. He already has three wins over top 20 players this season, two of which came at the Majors. Given Khachanov's lack of match play, the American will have the edge in this contest.
Pick: Michael Mmoh to win in four sets.