Andrey Rublev & Karen Khachanov come together to play exhibition match at UCLA tennis centre in Los Angeles to help Artsakh refugees

Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov played an exhibition match at the UCLA Tennis Centre in Los Angeles for the Artsakh refugees.

Rublev and Khachanov recently competed at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and had disappointing campaigns. While the World No. 5 was eliminated by Jiri Lehecka in the third round, the latter was eliminated by Thiago Seybouth Wild in his opening round. The Russian duo also partnered in the doubles but were eliminated in their opening round by the Italian duo of Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego.

Khachanov announced on Instagram that he would be playing an exhibition match against Rublev on March 16 at the UCLA Tennis Centre in Los Angeles, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Artsakh refugees, who are currently seeking shelter in Armenia.

This issue is close to Khachanov's heart as he has Armenian roots. His father Abgar is Armenian and his maternal grandfather was also partly Armenian.

Here are some highlights from the event.

A lot of people came out to support Karen Khachanov's initiative. Among them was tennis legend Andre Agassi, whose father Emmanuel is of Armenian and Assyrian heritage.

The Russian took to Instagram to share a photo of him with Agassi and thanked the 53-year-old for coming out to support the event.

"From little Armenia with love ❤️🇦🇲. Thanks for coming and support the event! @agassi 🤝," he wrote.

Both Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov will next compete at the final destination of the Sunshine Double - Miami Open.

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A look into Karen Khachanov & Andrey Rublev's run at the 2023 Miami Open

Andrey Rublev & Karen Khachanov

Karen Khachanov had a phenomenal outing last year at the Miami Open while his compatriot Andrey Rublev had a decent run. Both Russians received a bye in the first round due to their respective seedings.

Khachanov entered as the 14th seed and kicked off his campaign with a three-set win against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in his opening round and followed it up with a straight-set win over Jiri Lehecka in the next round. The Russian then defeated second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals where he faced Francisco Cerundolo.

After a straight-set win over the Argentinian, Khachanov lost to eventual champion Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals in a hard-fought three-setter.

Andrey Rublev, meanwhile, started his run with a straight-set win over JJ Wolf in the second round and followed it up with another straight-set win over Miomir Kecmanovic. However, Rublev's run would be ended by Jannik Sinner in the fourth round.

The 2024 Miami Open will begin on March 19th.