Khachanov masters Djokovic in Paris to signal new world order
Russian beats world No 1 to move up rankings Nadal set for ATP Finals despite latest withdrawal
As the ATP Next Gen Finals – a tournament for the world’s best under21s – begins tomorrow in Milan, a member of last year’s catchment will be celebrating a breakthrough.
Karen Khachanov, who turned 22 in May, lifted the biggest title of his life yesterday in Paris. The 1,000 rankings points and £850,000 prize-money may be a significant windfall, but the most satisfying aspect will probably be the identity of the man he beat: world No1 Novak Djokovic, who had come into the final on a 22-match winning streak.
Djokovic said afterwards that he had not recovered well from Saturday’s semi-final, an intense threehour showdown with Roger Federer. After suffering flu symptoms all week, he looked jaded, struggling to cope with Khachanov’s heavy slugging.
Khachanov, a Russian who grew up idolising Marat Safin, more than earned the Paris Masters title by overcoming four top-10 players in successive matches, namely John Isner, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and finally Djokovic.
Today’s new rankings chart will show Khachanov standing at a career high of No11, one place ahead of his near contemporary, Borna Coric. In fact, the sequence has a youthful look, with Britain’s Kyle Edmund, 23, Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, 20, and fellow Russian Daniil Medvedev, 22, standing in a row between No14 and No16. While Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal may remain the class of the field, a generational shift is under way in men’s tennis, with the average age of the top 100 falling significantly.
Khachanov has yet to reach the quarter-final of a major, but when he reaches the trophy match of a lesser tournament he has a lethal record, having won all four finals that he has contested.
He now has the option to come to London next week as an alternate for the Nitto ATP Finals. The draw will be held tomorrow and Nadal is understood to be among the entrants, despite the abdominal injury that forced him to withdraw from Paris.