Russian veteran Karen Khachanov defeated an ailing third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime Thursday in the second round of the US Open in four sets. Khachanov, unseeded this year but a familiar face in the latter stages of big tournaments, beat Auger-Aliaissime 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. The 26-year-old Canadian, a two-time semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows, eked out a first-set tiebreaker against the hard-hitting Russian, who himself made the US Open semifinals in 2022.
Khachanov also won several key points with blistering backhand down-the-line winners. Auger-Aliassime felt fine the last few days and had no problem before the match on Thursday. “I just couldn’t, feel well and was dizzy and seeing spots and couldn’t recover.
After reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open and Wimbledon, Auger-Aliassime withdrew from the Rogers Cup in Montreal in early August due to a back injury. A fixture among the seeds at Grand Slam tournaments for most of the last decade, Khachanov, 30, came into New York ranked 50th, his lowest since 2017. He won two matches at the Cincinnati Open in mid-August, but lost in the round of 16 to Frances Tiafoe.
I thought maybe it would pass, but it didn’t,” the Canadian said after the match. “You have to focus step by step on every match and try to get this rhythm, this confidence, you know, and build your form and build your tennis,” he said.
