Khachanov wins first 14 games against shell-shocked Nishioka to reach last eight
Karen Khachanov is into the quarter-finals for the second straight Grand Slam after a dominant display against Yoshihito Nishioka
Karen Khachanov 2023 Australian Open || AI / Reuters / Panoramic
Russian Karen Khachanov, the No 18 seed, won against Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka, the No 31 seed, 6-0, 6-0, 7-6 (4) to move into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Sunday night.
Khachanov, ranked No 20, will play the winner of the match between Pole Hubert Hurkacz, the No 10 seed, and American Sebastian Korda, the No 29 seed, next.
It was a brilliant display from the Russian as he reeled off the first 14 games before Nishioka surged back to make the third set competitive.
To his credit, Nishioka recovered a break deficit in set three and even had two break points to take a 5-4 lead, but a resilient Khachanov saved them both and proceeded to finish off his 52nd career Grand Slam victory in one hour and 58 minutes.
Khachanov reaches his first Australian Open quarter-final and his fourth at the majors. His best Grand Slam performance came at last year’s US Open when he reached the semi-finals.
Ahead of his victory, the Russian defeated Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles (7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-0), Australian wildcard Jason Kubler (6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2) and American Frances Tiafoe, the No 16 seed (6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9)).
Nishioka, ranked No 33, won against Swede Mikael Ymer (6-4, 6-2, 7-5), Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina (6-3, 6-4, 6-2) and American Mackenzie McDonald (7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-2) in the previous rounds.
Melbourne (Grand Slam), other last 16 results (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 24.297.942, most recent results first):
- Alex De Minaur vs. Novak Djokovic
- Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Tommy Paul
- Andrey Rublev vs. Holger Rune
- Ben Shelton vs. J.J. Wolf
- Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Jannik Sinner
- Jiri Lehecka vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime: sunday
- Hubert Hurkacz vs. Sebastian Korda: sunday
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