Rafael Nadal: Karen Khachanov makes surprise claim despite US Open exit
KAREN KHACHANOV has revealed he thought Rafael Nadal would be most vulnerable on hard court.
US Open: Crowds cheer as Nadal battles with Khachanov
Khachanov gave Nadal a scare before the world No 1 prevailed in four sets, with two of those coming via a tie-break.
The Russian hot shot troubled the Spaniard before his opponent demonstrated his class in the key moments.
Nadal - the reigning US Open champion - will now play Georgia Nikoloz Basilashvili in the last 16.
Although Khachanov has never beaten a top-five player before, he thought he would have found Nadal to be most vulnerable on hard even though he's won every major at least once.
I think the best chance that I could have, it was today, to play on hard court
“This time actually was positive for me. I won a set against him,” Khachanov said.
“The other matches I didn't. I mean, he won all Grand Slams at least once.
“Okay, Roland Garros 11 times. That's why it shows that he adapted his game for all surfaces.
“I don't know, I would say hard court, yeah.
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“That's why it was the closest match for me.
“I think the best chance that I could have, it was today, to play on hard court.”
Khachanov admitted he made mistakes which could have swung the match in his favour.
He added: “I think during the match, for example, I had some chances, he had some chances.
“It was very close match, very close. I would say maybe if I win second set, you know, I would be leading two sets to love.
“It's a big advantage. But, yeah, at the end of the day, just a few points that I lost.
“He turned it around in the second set, then there were two tiebreaks.
“Again, maybe not normal in the third set that I did three double-faults in the tiebreak.
“Sometimes when the guy plays unbelievable, you just say, Okay, Bravo, well done.”