Khachanov storms past Carreno Busta into Olympic gold medal match
Olympic debutant Karen Khachanov will face either Novak Djokovic or Alexander Zverev in the Tokyo 2020 men’s singles gold medal match after an impressive straight-sets semi-final victory over Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta.
Under stormy skies on another humid afternoon at Ariake Tennis Park, the No. 12 seed was calmness personified as he dispatched the Spaniard 6-3 6-3 to guarantee ROC’s second tennis medals of these Games, with the nation guaranteed at least one spot on the mixed doubles podium and still in the hunt for a women’s doubles bronze.
“It was so important to win today because at least you know for sure that you’re guaranteed a medal, which is one of the dreams come true,” admitted Khachanov. “But obviously, you need to find motivation and excitement, and I will try to be prepared for the final and fight for the gold.”
Unfazed by a huge thunderclap during one point of his opening service game, Khachanov was virtually untouchable on serve in the opener, winning one game in under 80 seconds and denying Carreno Busta a single break point.
By contrast, the Spaniard was under pressure from the outset, drawn into long, lung-busting rallies behind his deliveries. Hitting deep and with venom, and matching the No. 6 seed’s court coverage ball for ball, Khachanov broke for a 3-2 lead before securing the set with a second break behind some huge forehand returns that Carreno Busta found too hot to handle.
The sun broke through at the start of the second set as the Spaniard enjoyed his best spell of the match. So impressive against No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev in Thursday’s quarter-finals, this was a performance of grit and determination to halt Khachanov’s momentum. He reached break point at 2-2, but it came and went in a flash, the ROC right-hander roaring as a drop shot and ace helped him to the hold.
It proved a decisive moment. Buoyed by the fightback, Khachanov broke with a forehand winner in the next game and consolidated with a love hold to move within a game of the gold medal match, sealed with a nerveless forehand winner after one hour, 19 minutes.
Asked how he felt about the prospect of facing either Djokovic or Zverev in the gold medal match as the second semi-final began on Centre Court, Khachanov insisted: “Right now I’m not preparing for anybody – first I want to know my opponent and then prepare for him.”
It is perhaps an indication of his hard-earned mental toughness in action here in Tokyo, something he has worked hard on over the last 12 months.
“Since last year, when I had a couple of ups and downs and I dropped a little mentally, I started to work on my mindset, my mentality. Mentality means different things for different parts of the match – how do you approach those kinds of circumstances, those kinds of situations, and how you deal with them. I started to work on this part and I’m really happy that it’s paying off.
“At the end of the day, your strokes are there, you’ve been practising tennis all your life – you cannot forget how to play tennis. But how you use your shots, in which moments, and how you deal with pressure, this is one of the most important things. This match today was very important for my head.”