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Match Details
Fixture: (13) Karen Khachanov vs (18) Grigor Dimitrov
Date: October 9, 2023
Tournament: Shanghai Masters 2023
Round: Third Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, China
Category: ATP 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $8,800,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Karen Khachanov vs Grigor Dimitrov preview
Top 20 players Karen Khachanov and Grigor Dimitrov will clash in the third round of the 2023 Shanghai Masters on Monday.
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Khachanov took on World No. 302 Beibit Zhukayev in the second round. Both players remained rock solid on serve in the first set, which then went to a tie-break. The Russian dominated the tie-break to claim the opener for himself.
Zhukayev leveled the proceedings by capturing the second set. Khachanov got back on track and broke his opponent's serve twice in the deciding set to win the match 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-2.
Dimitrov, meanwhile, commenced his challege in Shanghai against Aleksandar Vukic in the second round. An early break in the first set gave the Bulgarian a good headstart, which he capitalized on to take the set.
Dimitrov broke Vukic's serve to start the second set and consolidated his lead with a hold of serve to make it 2-0. He didn't allow his opponent to make a comeback and broke his serve once again to register a 6-4, 6-3 victory.
Karen Khachanov vs Grigor Dimitrov head-to-head
Dimitrov leads Khachanov 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2021 Paris Masters in three sets.
Karen Khachanov vs Grigor Dimitrov odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Karen Khachanov vs Grigor Dimitrov prediction
Being taken to three sets by a player ranked outside the top 300 wasn't an ideal scenario for Khachanov. Nevertheless, he got his campaign underway on a winning note. The Russian won 87% of his first serve points and struck a total of 25 winners.
Dimitrov, on the other hand, scored a pretty routine win over Vukic, not facing a single break point throughout the match. Having won both of his previous matches against Khachanov, the Bulgarian will be feeling quite confident of his chances.
Both have had pretty decent seasons so far. Dimitrov has been unfazed by Khachanov's shotmaking and has countered it quite well in the past with an array of tactics.
While Khachanov is the bigger server between them, Dimitrov is quite consistent with respect to placement and speed on his serve as well. The latter's got the better touch and finesse too, which has come in quite handy in this match-up.
This could be another close fight to the finish, though Dimitrov will be expected to maintain his wininng record in this rivalry.
Pick: Grigor Dimitrov to win in three sets.
