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Karen Khachanov won a five-set thriller Monday at the US Open to reach his seventh major quarter-final, ATP reported.
The World No. 50 outlasted 20-year-old American Learner Tien 7-5, 4-6, 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4 in a hard-fought, physical battle that stretched across three hours and 50 minutes.
“It was a really crazy match,” ATP quoted Khachanov as saying. “We played for the first time against each other. I knew what to expect: One extra ball coming back, one extra ball. So many close rallies. He loves to play that defense outside the court, that’s why it makes it extremely tough, this match, because you have to stay always in the match with great intensity, hitting, hitting, pushing. In the end, I’m super happy that I could pull through.”
Khachanov, the Russian player of Armenian descent, entered the season’s final major with an 0-3 record throughout this year’s North American hard-court swing, but has quickly found some of his best form to reach the last eight.
“When you are not playing well or not having good results, you have to try to stay ready for the next one,” said Khachanov. “I was getting more fit. I was practising quite a lot and look, it paid off. It’s paying off slowly.”
The 30-year-old, who reached the semi-finals in New York in 2022, will next meet 28th seed Alexander Blockx.
Tien was aiming to become the youngest American men’s quarter-finalist in New York since Andy Roddick in 2002. The 14th seed was overcome with emotion after the heartbreaking defeat.