Khachanov, Karen v Tiafoe, Frances Betting Tips [20 January 2023]
Tennis - Open d'Australie
20 January 2023 8:00
The match
A top 20 clash is on the cards in round three of the 2023 Australian Open as 20th seed Karen Khachanov faces off with world No.17 Frances Tiafoe on Friday on an outdoor hard court. It will be the third time that the two will be going head to head with Khachanov winning the previous two meetings on grass in Wimbledon. The duo’s latest meeting was in 2021. The 26-year-old Russian got the better of unseeded Australian Jason Kubler in the last round in four sets (dropping the second) to improve his record for the year to 5-2. It took him 51 minutes more to secure the win than in the first-round 3-0 victory over Spaniard Bernabe Miralles. He reached the quarterfinals at both Adelaide tournaments this year and is currently up to 18th in the live ranking. The Olympic Silver medalist has never progressed past the 3rd round in Australia.
Frances Tiafoe is in impeccable form this year, with his second-round 3-0 victory over Shang Juncheng taking him to 7-0 in 2023. He defeated unseeded German Daniel Altmaier in the first round in four sets (dropping the third set). Tiafoe came into the tournament off the back of the United Cup success where he won all five of his matches to help the United States clinch the inaugural tourney in Australia. His current 17th ranking (14th live ranking) is a new career high for the American who only broke into the ATP Top 20 four months ago. It is however only the second time in seven appearances at the Australian major that the 24-year-old has progressed past the 2nd round with his best showing being a quarterfinal appearance in 2019. He will however be buoyed by his semi-final appearance at the US Open in 2022 which is his best-ever finish across the four majors. Advancing from this round for either of the two will set up a fourth-round clash against either the seeded Yoshihito Nishioka or American Michael MacDonald.
Key Statistics
- Khachanov and Tiafoe have faced each other twice, with Khachanov winning both meetings.
- Tiafoe has played seven matches on hard surface in 2023 winning all
- Khachanov has played seven matches on hard surface this year and has won five
- Khachanov has dropped just two sets in his previous two meetings with Tiafoe
- Khachanov played 55 minutes more than Tiafoe during the 2nd round.
The bet of our experts
This doesn’t seem like it will be a straight forward task for these two, as we foresee at least four sets being played. Frances Tiafoe is in devastating form at the moment and has excelled on hard court this year, thus we feel he will continue to do so against Karen Khachanov. Back Tiafoe to win here.
