Alexander Zverev vs Karen Khachanov – Breakdown and Prediction

August 15, 2024

Alexander Zverev vs Karen Khachanov: ATP Cincinnati – Second round

The 2021 champion Alexander Zverev will face off Karen Khachanov in the second round of ATP Cincinnati.

Alexander Zverev Profile

Alexander Zverev is currently fourth in the ATP rankings while his career high was No. 2. The German is 49-15 for the season and 20-7 on hard.

Zverev is coming off a 7-6, 1-6, 6-4 loss to Sebastian Korda in the quarterfinal in Montreal. The week before, Zverev reached quarterfinals of the Olympics where he lost to Lorenzo Musetti.

Zverev won the title in Rome earlier this season and lost in the finals at the French Open and Hamburg.

He won the title in Cincinnati in 2021 defeating Andrey Rublev in the final.

Karen Khachanov Profile

Karen Khachanov is 22nd in the ATP rankings and his career high was No. 8 in the world. The Russian is 23-16 for the season and 12-8 on hard.

Khachanov is coming off a 6-0, 6-3 win in the first round in Cincinnati against Francisco Cerundolo.

Last week, he lost in the second round in Montreal to Matteo Arnaldi, 7-5, 7-5.

Khachanov won the title in Doha this season and also reached the semifinal in Marseille.

His best result in Cincinnati is reaching the round of 16 which he did in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Head-to-Head Zverev leads 4-2

Zverev vs Khachanov 6-1, 6-4 (2024 ATP Miami, round of 16)
Zverev vs Khachanov 6-3, 6-1 (2021 Tokyo Olympics, final)
Khachanov vs Zverev 6-3, 6-3 (2019 ATP Montreal, quarterfinal)
Khachanov vs Zverev 6-1, 6-2 (2018 ATP Paris Masters, quarterfinal)
Zverev vs Khachanov 4-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 (2018 French Open, round of 16)
Zverev vs Khachanov 7-6, 6-4 (2016 ATP Saint Petersburg, first round)

Prediction and Conclusion

These two players know each other very well, and both of them have been winning head-to-head matches at a certain point in their careers. Zverev won their only match so far this season pretty easily, which was the case in the final of the 2021 Olympics as well. Khachanov is still not back in his best form, but he can always be a difficult opponent. He dropped only three games in the first round and seems ready for the next challenge. Zverev is the better overall player, but the safest bet is going with over 22.5 games in total.