Karen Khachanov has revealed that his fourth round match at the US Open was his best match of the year as he sets his goals for next season.
The Russian had a stellar 2018 season having broke into the top 20 of the world rankings as well as winning his first masters 1000 title of his career in November.
It was a milestone in his career and something that the Russian did not expect to happen so soon. Although his impressive performance against Novak Djokovic in the Paris final stands out to many tennis fans, Khachanov has actually revealed that his best match came earlier in the season.
In a recent interview with The National, the Russian claimed that his four set defeat to Rafael Nadal was his best match of 2018, “I honestly think [the US Open match] was one of my best of the year – lots of exciting rallies and great sportsmanship,” Khachanov explained.
“It was a great match and I was happy I could show this level during the whole match.” The duo could once again meet in the Abu Dhabi exhibition in late December and Khachanov couldn’t be more excited, “If it’s possible that we meet in Abu Dhabi that would be great and for sure I will try to bring my best game.”
Khachanov and Nadal join Novak Djokovic, Kevin Anderson, Hyeon Chung and Dominic Thiem in the exhibition event, which starts on the 27th of December. As well as the men’s event there is also a women’s singles exhibition match between Serena and Venus Williams.
Beyond the Abu Dhabi exhibition, Khachanov has said that he will be more flexible with his goals in 2019 after exceeding his own expectations in 2018, “The goals can change depending how the year goes,” he explained.
“At the moment I’m in pre-season working harder than ever before. If I continue to play at the same level or even better, there is the potential to always achieve better.
“That’s the main goal. If I keep playing the way I’m playing I hope it will give me even more results and I will be even higher.”
The Russian’s first competitive tournament back will be the ATP 250 event in Doha, which starts on the 31st of December.
