Tennis – China Open – Men’s Singles – Second Round – National Tennis Center, Beijing, China – October 3, 2018. Karen Khachanov of Russia in action against Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
October 21, 2018
(Reuters) – Home favorite Karen Khachanov raced past Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-2 6-2 to claim his third career title at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Sunday.
World number 26 Khachanov, who was broken only once all week, dictated against Mannarino and lost just eight points on his serve to wrap up the victory in 55 minutes.
Victory guaranteed a spot in the world’s top 20 when the next edition of the ATP rankings are released on Monday.
“When I was a kid and came to this arena to watch our top players, to ask them for autographs I always dreamt of winning this tournament,” sixth-seeded Khachanov, 22, said at courtside. “Now this day has finally come.”
The victory means the powerful Khachanov is the first Russian winner of the men’s singles title at the Kremlin Cup since Mikhail Youzhny in 2009.
Khachanov has won all three of his ATP finals to date, including a title triumph in Marseille in February.
Mannarino, on the other hand, has suffered defeats in all six of the finals he has played.
(This version of the story has been refiled to fix typo in headline)
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Martyn Herman)
