2020 Rotterdam Open – Karen Khachanov vs Fabio Fognini Preview & Prediction

THE FACTS

Where is Karen Khachanov vs Fabio Fognini taking place? Rotterdam Ahoy

When is Karen Khachanov vs Fabio Fognini on and what time does it start? Tuesday 11th February, 2020 – not before 11:30 (UK)

What channel is Karen Khachanov vs Fabio Fognini on? This match will not be televised live in the UK

Where can I stream Karen Khachanov vs Fabio Fognini in the UK? Amazon Prime will be showing matches from the 2020 Rotterdam Open / Tennis TV subscribers may also be able to stream the match

Where can I get tickets for Karen Khachanov vs Fabio Fognini? Click here to purchase tickets for the 2020 Rotterdam Open

Who won the last meeting between Karen Khachanov vs Fabio Fognini? Fabio Fognini beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-5

THE LOWDOWN

KAREN KHACHANOV

• Karen Khachanov last played a tour-level match in the third round of the Australian Open where he battled for over four hours against the home fans’ favourite Nick Kyrgios, eventually losing a championship tiebreak.
• The Russian is unlucky to be his country’s number three at just world number 17 but he enters Rotterdam unseeded as he aims to win his first match here in his fourth campaign.
• Khachanov has already faced Fabio Fognini at the Rotterdam Open this year in the first round of the Men’s Doubles which he lost to the Italian and Robin Haase alongside compatriot Andrey Rublev.

FABIO FOGNINI

• 32-year-old Fabio Fognini weathered several storms at the Australian Open as he won his first two matches in five-set marathon matches before eventually losing out in another slog to Tennys Sandgren in the round of 16.
• This is the world number 11’s first appearance at the Rotterdam Open as he opted for the South American clay court swing of the tour last year, but he did not make it past the quarter-finals of a hard court tournament in his career-year 2019.
• Fognini exacted almost immediate revenge when he last faced Karen Khachanov by beating the Russian in the round of 16 of the Shanghai Masters following a recent loss in the quarter-finals of the Beijing Open last year.

THE PREDICTION

This is a fantastic first round match between two players who would have both been expected to reach the latter stages of this tournament. While the cool, calm and elastic Karen Khachanov is the lower-ranked player here, he matches up pretty evenly with Fabio Fognini and this match looks destined for a deciding set no matter who takes the win. There is little evidence here to offer either player as an obvious winner, but Fognini beat Khachanov as part of a doubles team on Monday and that could fuel the Russian’s fires for a quick revenge.