Hubert Hurkacz (Pol) vs. Karen Khachanov (Rus) – Prediction (21.10.2019)

Preview and players comparison.

In the pair’s first-ever meeting, Karen Khachanov deservedly starts as the favorite, but there isn’t much between these two at the moment and expect both players to have equal chances in this battle.

Hubert Hurkacz snapped his three-match losing run on tour and made his way to the round of 16 in Shanghai Masters a few weeks ago, where he defeated Zhizhen Zhang and Gael Monfils before taking a set off Stefanos Tsitsipas. The big-serving Pole won exactly 11 matches on indoor hardcourts in each of the last two seasons but has gone 2/4 on the surface so far in 2019 with the last such win coming against Filip Krajinovic in Marseille back in February.

Karen Khachanov has two big tests in this final quarter of the season, and he failed in the first test as he lost to Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinal of his title-defense campaign in Moscow last week. He looked far from convincing in Moscow as he needed three sets against the struggling Philipp Kohlschreiber in the opening round. The second big test will be in Paris Masters, where he will be defending the biggest title of his career, and an early exit could have a significant impact on his ranking. Despite making only two semifinal appearances on the main tour in these ten months, the Russian is sitting at #9, thanks to the title-winning run in Paris last year. Former quarterfinalist of ATP Vienna, Karen Khachanov could take a bit of pressure off him by progressing deep in Vienna this week as he could win only one match here in 2019 — lost to Kei Nishikori in the second round.

Match Info and Live Scores.