Federer ups the intensity with close win over Khachanov as Switzerland down Russia in Hopman Cup

Sport360 staff 19:12 02/01/2018
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  • Roger Federer and Karen Khachanov almost reenacted their Halle semi-final from last year when they faced off in the Hopman Cup on Tuesday in a clash that saw the Swiss edge past the Russian NextGen player 6-3, 7-6 (8) in Perth.

    Their previous showdown in Halle ended 6-4, 7-6 (5) in Federer’s favour, with Khachanov stepping up his game significantly in the second set on both occasions, but ultimately surrendering to the 19-time Grand Slam champion.

    “I thought the intensity was great, the level was very high too,” said Federer, who together with Swiss partner Belinda Bencic wrapped up a 3-0 win over the Russian team of Khachanov and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

    “Karen got off to a really great start, me too actually, to be quite honest. We fought hard in the beginning for the first four games, and at the end I was up. He put me under pressure early on and then we caught a great spell on our serves, it was a bit of serving an exhibition after that for probably 45 minutes or so.

    “And then at the end there were some minor chances and the tiebreaker was close. It had a bit of everything. It was a good to play a tiebreaker, this kind, early on in the season, to get through those nervy situations, with the pulse up high, and you’re sweaty and you’re trying to figure it out. It was a good match overall so I’m very happy with my performance.”

    Khachanov showed some impressive form with blistering groundstrokes that sometimes took Federer by surprise.

    “I think it was quite a good level, so still I need to work on some things that I don’t feel well but overall I think it was a good fight, that’s what you need at the beginning of the year, these kind of matches I think to get into it,” said the 198cm 21-year-old.

    “It was very similar (to our match in Halle), it was again a close match, close second set, similar scenario in the first set. Still I made some mistakes in my game and I need to keep working on it.”

    Looking ahead, Khachanov said he has set himself quite high targets in 2018.

    “Goals are always high, you know you want to achieve as much as possible,” said the world No. 45.

    Meanwhile, Bencic continues to show glimpses of her previous top-10 form as she hit 38 winners to down the 15th-ranked Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. The 20-year-old ended her 2017 season with 15 consecutive victories, picking up titles in Taipei, Thailand and Dubai.

    Switzerland 3 – 0 Russia
    Men’s singles: Roger Federer (SUI) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS) 6-3, 7-6 (8)
    Women’s singles: Belinda Bencic (SUI) bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
    Mixed doubles: Bencic/Federer (SUI) bt Pavlyuchenkova/Khachanov (RUS) 4-3 (1), 3-4 (3), 4-1

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