Paris, France – Russian tennis star Karen Khachanov emerged victorious against Indian sensation Sumit Nagal. Khachanov, the 18th seed, was serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, before Nagal broke him back. Nagal was then leading 5-3 in the tiebreak, when his first serve was ruled an ace initially, but later called out. Then he double faulted. Khachanov eventually won 6-2 6-0 7-6(5).

Khachanov talked about the match later:

Q) Thoughts on the match
Khachanov – I am quite happy about my level. I was in control. I was winning in straight sets (almost), serving for the match. But there was some stress in the end (laughs). Still, I had some challenges at the end, but I found the energy in the last few points to close it out in straight sets. That was very important.

Q) Thoughts on your opponent, Sumit Nagal
Khachanov – We were analysing his game quite a lot before the match, my coaches especially. He had some good wins and he is a good opponent. If you give him chances to lead and dictate, he has a good aggressive forehand and can be dangerous. He goes around and tries to play aggressive. That’s why in the beginning, and in general over the match, I was trying to overpower him and control much more.

At the end, I had a bit of a slowdown, which is when he stepped up and took those chances. In general, he is a good and dangerous player, so I am very happy to win in straight sets.