Free Fall

Khachanov needs to turn things around quickly!

Karen's year has been pretty disastrous; that's just the truth. More than anything, we are seeing a lot of losses to players he would normally never lose to. Being strong and solid has been his strength for a long time, but right now, he is in real trouble. He still plays OK matches, but as I touched on a while back in my preview for his match against Atmane... he is just too rhythmic and ordinary. There is nothing special in his game; everything is predictable. His serve and consistency are no longer enough to win him a lot of matches. Currently, there is only one type of matchup where I still have a bit of faith in Khachanov - against a Solid Baseliner / Counter Puncher that lacks variety. This matchup has been his "moneymaker" for a while; he can impose his game and stay strong on serve while getting chances in return games. It's different if you have players who can play with a lot of variety and either come to the net themselves a lot or drag Khachanov there; he sucks in the forecourt with his extreme western forehand grip (combined with a lack of creativity).

Now, does Burruchaga fit that description? I would say yes, he kind of does. I find him to be quite a typical South American clay-courter, even if he has shown us at least some decent matches on hard court. I will repeat once again that it's really hard to trust Khachanov in any way right now, but could this possibly be a good "buy-low" spot for him? Let's see...