Jannik Sinner will face Karen Khachanov in the fourth round of the 2024 Australian Open on Sunday in the Margaret Court Arena. This clash between the two heavyweights has all the makings to be the most thrilling encounter of this stage.
Khachanov has played three four-setters to get to the Round of 16 in Melbourne. He began his campaign with a win over Daniel Altmaier. He followed it up with wins over Aleksandar Kovacevic and Tomas Machac. All three are significantly lower-ranked opposition whom the Russian exploited with his booming serves. He has fired 54 aces so far in just three matches.
Sinner, on the other hand, has yet to drop a set. He beat two Dutchmen in the first two rounds, dispatching Botic van de Zandschulp and Jesper de Jong. He had no difficulty defeating #26 seed Sebastian Baez in straight sets in the third round.
Sinner leads the head-to-head against Khachanov 2-1. The latter, however, has always managed to stretch the Italian to the limits. Sinner looks invincible at the moment, but now faces a much better opponent than his previous ones. Regardless, the Davis Cup champion has his eyes on the prize and will steam ahead. Khachanov may pose a test, as shown by their track record, but will likely not be able to win more than one set. Hence, The SportsRush predicts Jannik Sinner to win in three or four sets.
The pair will clash on Sunday, January 21, at 4:00 p.m. local time (Midnight ET). ESPN and Tennis Channel will stream the match in the USA. Conditions are expected to be humid, windy, and cloudy with temperatures around 18°C. However, rain would not be an issue since the Margaret Court Arena has a retractable roof.
Jannik Sinner and Karen Khachanov form guide and head-to-head
After a breakthrough 2023 season, Jannik Sinner chose to not feature in any build-up tournaments ahead of the first Slam of the year. He lifted his first ATP 1000 title last year, also finishing runner-up in the ATP Finals. With a late flourish in 2023, he climbed to a career-high World No.4 and established himself as one of the best in the world. Despite entering the 2024 Australian Open with a 0-0 record, he is amongst the title favorites.
Karen Khachanov, meanwhile, recovered from a slump last year to get back into the top 10 after four years. Since peaking at World No.8 in 2019, he faltered and spent time around the No.30 mark. However, backed by a semi-final finish at the 2023 Australian Open, he rose to No.10 before ending the year as No.15. His 2024 season got off to a poor start as he suffered a first-round exit in the Hong Kong Open. He came into the 2024 AO as World No.15 and 0-1 for the year.
They have played each other thrice, with Sinner leading 2-1. He lost their first encounter in the opening round of the 2020 US Open. He was only 19 and outside the top 75, whereas Khachanov was seeded 11th. Sinner beat the Russian at the 2021 Adelaide International and the 2021 Miami Open. All their clashes have gone into the decider.
If Sinner wins as predicted, he could face local favorite Alex de Minaur or Khachanov’s doubles partner Andrey Rublev.
