Same Old Story?

Khachanov leads 4-0 in the H2H, with a recent beatdown in Wimbledon this year...

Both players struggled more than they would have liked in their first rounds, both as heavy favorites. Khachanov was troubled by Basavareddy's spot serving and his ability to move Khachanov around and then attack the net. Despite losing the first set, Khachanov would have a huge edge that made it unlikely for him to lose this in a best-of-five... his physicality. And sure enough, between the third and fourth sets, Basavareddy had an MTO and was clearly fatigued; once that happened, he was easily bullied around the court. Majchrzak looked well on his way toward a very quick straight-sets win against hardcourt superstar Hugo Dellien, but things took a turn for the worse in the third set, which he lost in a tiebreaker before going down a break in the fourth. According to himself, he was getting a bit stressed, especially facing an opponent with nothing to lose.

So, yes, let's not sugarcoat it... this is not a good matchup for Majchrzak. Now, why is that? Well, Majchrzak is solid and well-rounded, but he doesn't have any huge specific strengths. His backhand is great, but unfortunately, so is Khachanov's... Majchrzak lacks the weapons to consistently bother Khachanov and move him from the baseline, nor does he have enough creativity and variety to do so. So... what's the plan this time? Well, according to Majchrzak, he was going to analyze Khachanov's match and play without expectations and stress (while throwing everything he has at him). Where does that take us? A somewhat competitive first set with a fired-up Majchrzak with some new tricks up his sleeve against a Khachanov, perhaps a bit too relaxed in a comfortable matchup (although he is a great competitor and always focused, maybe just 5% less) ;) Majchrzak is unable to keep his level and fades away in what ends up being a rather comfortable Khachanov victory in 3-4 sets...?