The Mmoh at the end?

Somewhat unexpected at this stage of the tournament given his completely messed-up ranking, but you shouldn’t underestimate his counterpunching game, with a very decent serve!

Standing right in front of him is one hell of a Soviet block! Well, it’ll depend on what kind of mood Karen Khachanov is in. The Russian has gone out in his first match both times here in Hong Kong, and he ended the season with a lovely 6-2 6-2 beating from De Minaur in Paris. Basically, since his final in Toronto against Shelton—where he played at such a high level it made me think he’d at least make the quarters at the US Open—he hasn’t done anything. We’re used to seeing him motivated and dialed in mainly at the big tournaments now, but he also tends to need to grind through several matches these days before he hits his best level again. Last season, he played Hong Kong, then went straight to Melbourne. He lives in Dubai, and there are plenty of players over there, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d put in a big pre-season block to get his physical level back. He stopped his season on October 30, and only played the exhibition in Saint Petersburg, which he won with his buddy Medvedev. He’s clearly showing ambition for 2026. Above all, he just wants to stay injury-free. His back really handicapped him all through 2025. Against Mmoh, I think his game matches up pretty well. He grinds better than the American and has the serve. While Mmoh could drag him into a good physical battle and maybe pull off the win, I honestly only see him causing real trouble for a set, but I have no idea where the Russian is at in terms of preparation, unfortunately. He’s also signed up for doubles with Rublo. Let’s see how that goes!