The Story of Karen Khachanov-Tennis Star!

Karen Khachanov is a 25-year-old Russian professional tennis player. The Russian currently holds four titles of Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). 

On 15th July 2019, he attained his highest career rankings as the overall world number 8 tennis player. The tennis player is also known as Djan or Baby Safin because of his style of playing tennis.

Early and Junior Life of Karen Khachanov

Karen Khachanov had his first interest in tennis at the age of three years. At this age, he was admitted into the tennis group. He grew up motivated by his tennis idols Juan Martin Del Potro and Marat Safin. His debut as a professional player was at the age of 12 years. 

He later relocated to Split, Croatia, when he turned 15 years. In 2011, he trained under Vedran Martic Fredrik Rosengren. He later moved to Barcelona in 2013, where he continued training under Galo Blanco. Galo Blanco worked with Karen Khachanov after the Canadian Milos Raonic setting off.

As of July 2013, Karen Khachanov emerged the victor of the Under 18 European Championship title held at St Petersburg, Russia. He became the first Russian winner of the title since Andrei Cherkasov back in 1987. He also turned into a professional tennis player.

At the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev earned a silver medal each. The two lost the finals against Brazillian Players Marcelo Zormann and Orlando Luiz.

Karen Khachanov Professional Career Debut

2015 ATP Tour Challenger Title

As of September 2015, Karen Khachanov experienced his first ITF and Challenger men’s world tennis tour title held in Istanbul, Turkey. He won the final tournament against his rival Sergiy Stakhovsky. 

2016 ATP World Tour Title

In September 2016, he claimed his first ATP World Tour title against Albert Ramos Vinolas at Sichuan International Tennis Center in Chengdu, China. Karen Khachanov joined Alexander Zverez and Nick Kyrgios as the third next-generation winner. The official FedEx ATP rankings designated him a career number 55 overall. 

First Fourth Grand Slam Round

In 2017, Khachanov won over 30 players bringing him to the Fourth Grand Slam Round for the first time in his tennis career. However, he lost to Andy Murray, failing to reach the quarterfinals. With his continued exemplary performance, he managed to reach the semifinals at Halle Open, Germany. He however didn’t reach the finals after losing against Roger Federer.

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Title

In 2018, Karen Khachanov defeated Novak Djokovic to capture his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles at the Rolex Paris Masters. He became the first Russian tennis player to win the title in 9 years since Nikolay Davydenko back in 2009 of the inaugural edition of Shanghai Masters.

He earned his second ATP World Tour title in Marseille. Karen Khachanov also ended the Russian title drought by defeating Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-2, securing the third ATP World Tour title in Moscow, Russia.

Enters Top 10 List of the World’s Tennis Players

As of 2019, Karen Khachanov began as the number 11 ranked tennis player in the world. Khachanov encountered his idol, Juan Martin del Potro, at the French Open. Karen Khachanov won his first three-set round of the last-16 encounter sending him to the quarterfinals. 

In the major quarterfinals, Karen Khachanov became number 9 for the first time. He also managed to reach the semifinals of the China Open after the Rodgers Cup. However, he dropped out of the first ten after failing to defend his Masters 1000 title against Jan-Lennard Struff.

The 2020 ATP Cup Semifinals

After losing his first match to John Millman at the Auckland Open, he joined team Russia. At the ATP quarterfinals, team Russia had Gabashvili, Medvedev, and Marat. Three cities of Australia held the tournaments including, Perth, Sydney, and Brisbane.

Karen Khachanov managed to hammer four out of the five players proceeding to the semifinals. However, in the semifinals, Serbia won the tournament. 

Karen Khachanov Receives Silver at the Tokyo Olympics

Alexander Zverev won the gold medal, Karen Khachanov took the silver, Carreno Busta received the bronze. Karen Khachanov made his semifinal debut after defeating:

• Yoshihito Nishioka in the Men’s Singles First Round
• James Duckworth in the Men’s Singles Second Round
• Diego Schwartzman in the Men’s Singles Third Round
• Ugo Humbert in the Men’s Singles Quarterfinals 

Karen Khachanov emerged as the victor against Carreno Busta Pablo in the men’s singles semifinals, which guaranteed him a silver medal. However, he lost the gold medal final against Alexandria Zverev.