5 most recent players who made their Masters 1000 breakthrough

Modified Mar 05, 2020 07:42 GMT

Stefan Edberg won the first Masters 1000 title at 1990 Indian Wells.

#2 Karen Khachanov (2018 Paris-Bercy)

Karen Khachanov lifts his first Masters 1000 title at 2019 Paris-Bercy.

It was a week to remember for Karen Khachanov at the 2018 Paris-Bercy Masters.

An epic third-set tiebreak win over John Isner in the third round announced Khachanov's title credentials. The big-hitting Russian then saw off Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem for the loss of just eight cumulative games to book a final meeting with four-time champion Novak Djokovic.

The going got tough against the 32-time Masters 1000 titlist, who burst off the blocks to take a 3-1 lead. But the response from Khachanov was swift and impressive.

Powerful groundstrokes, especially off the forehand wing, pinned Djokovic on the baseline and punctured massive holes in the Serbian's usually reliable defence as Khachanov won 10 consecutive points.

The Russian was all over Djokovic in the 11th game, turning defence into offence to grab the decisive break before he promptly served out the opener to take a one-set advantage.

The 22-year-old struck first in the second set, breaking Djokovic for 2-1. The lone break sufficed as Khachanov closed out a 7-5, 6-4 win to become the newest Masters 1000 winner.

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Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 18 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Musab Abid