Russian star Karen Khachanov suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Norwegian Casper Ruud at the US Open semifinal. The World No. 7 defeated Khachanov, 6(5),6-2,5-7,6-2 to reach his second grand slam final. Before reaching the semifinal, Khachanov stunningly defeated fan-favourite Nick Kyrgios in a thrilling 5 set match.
Karen Khachanov hasn’t been consistent with his game this season and has suffered several early exits this year. He made it into the semifinal of the Serbian Open as well but lost to former World No.1 Novak Djokovic. Amidst all this, he wasn’t able to play at Wimbledon due to their ban on Russian and Belarusian players. Now the World No. 31 is speaking out on his future plans.
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The US Open, unfortunately, is over for me: Karen Khachanov on his saddening loss at the prestigious grand slam
A reporter asked Khachanov about his stance on the European Union’s visa rules for Russian citizens. Khachanov replied, “I mean, what can I do? If they don’t allow us to enter Europe, there’s nothing I can do about it, can I? We didn’t really talk. To be honest, I don’t read the news. I don’t like reading them lately. I advance one tournament at a time.”
He further added, “The US Open, unfortunately, is over for me. I’m going home. I really want to rest. I want to see my son. I haven’t seen him for a long time, about six weeks. I really want to go home, see my family, relax a bit, then see with my team where we can go, where we can play. Obviously, we had projects in mind, but some projects may change. We will adapt to the situation. What more can I say?“
Fans have spoken in support of Khachanov and how players shouldn’t be affected due to the ongoing geopolitical conflicts. When mindlessly asked about what he referred to as ‘home’ at the US Open press conference, Khachanov replied, “I mean, my city and where I come from is Russia and Moscow, but I have residence, I live in Dubai. So…thank you.”
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