Tennis

Karen Khachanov vs Frances Tiafoe Prediction and Odds: Australian Open

We are set for a big battle in the Third Round of action at the Australian Open 2023, between two of the Top 20 seeds. With Rafa Nadal having fallen by the wayside in the top section of the draw, there’s a huge opportunity ahead for Khachanov or Tiafoe to grab.

These odds from Ladbrokes were correct at the time of writing.

Karen Khachanov vs Frances Tiafoe – Match Predictions

Read on for our tennis predictions for this Australian Open Third Round match, which sees 18th seed Karen Khachanov duke it out with 16th seed Frances Tiafoe. The markets are tight on this one.

Karen Khachanov To Win

There doesn’t immediately look to be a lot to choose between Khachanov and Tiafoe for this Third Round match. The pre-Grand Slam warm up saw Khachanov produce a mixed-bag of results. He is the sort of player that blows hot and cold.

But he had handled Tiafoe in both of their previous meetings to come out on top. He has also looked relatively composed so far in his two matches at the Australian Open 2023. While he hasn’t been beyond this stage before in Melbourne, Khachanov did hit the US Open semis last year.

Over 40.5 Sets

Tiafoe is a high-energy player and like Khachnov had dropped only one set so far in this current Grand Slam campaign. On paper he has slightly the better current form of the two, but wins in the sequence have come against some fairly innocuous opposition.

He too was a semi-finalist at last year’s US Open, but this is just the second time in seven appearances in Melbourne that the American has fought to the Third Round. There’s just slightly more polish in the all-round game of Khachanov, but we expect this match to go long.

Karen Khachanov vs Frances Tiafoe Preview

We have laid out our tennis predictions for the Karen Khachanov vs Frances Tiafoe match on Day 5. It’s still worth a look at some current form and AO history.

Karen Khachanov

Russia’s Karen Khachanov has yet to really hit the heights of his potential in the game. Once touted as one of the best youngsters around, the 26-year-old has a fairly disappointing track record in the Slams. The former World No. 8 broke back into the top twenty rankings with his semi-final finish at the US Open last year. It’s a result which could protect him from better things this year. Khachanov saw off wildcard Jason Kubler in the Second Round 3-1.

Frances Tiafoe

Tiafoe comfortably won his Second Round match against qualifier Juncheng Shang to go beyond that stage for just the second time in his career. As one of the leading American contenders in the draw, Frances Tiafoe is a positive, aggressive player. But it’s also that which can get him into trouble in matches because of wayward accuracy. His massive serves are a huge weapon. Tiafoe is on a seven-match winning streak at the moment, but faced nothing like the quality of Khachanov in that sequence.

Karen Khachanov vs Frances Tiafoe Head to Head

Karen Khachanov is 2-0 up in the head to head with Frances Tiafoe. Both previous meetings happened on the Grand Slam stage at Wimbledon, mostly recently in 2021 when the Russian won 3-0.

Karen Khachanov vs Frances Tiafoe Match Details

Australian Open 2023

When will the match start? The match will start at 08:00 am GMT on Friday, 20th January
On which court will the match be played? The match will be played on John Cain Arena in Melbourne.
Where to watch AO 2023 in UK? You can watch Australian Open on Eurosport broadcast and online, or stream it on Discovery +.


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About the author

Lee Jackson

Lee has been a freelance sports writer for over a decade and is a massive sports fan, following Chelsea in the Premier League and Gloucester in Premiership Rugby. Few sports events get him more excited than Ashes cricket, however.

Lee has followed darts since the good old days of Eric Bristow and John Lowe producing highlight moments at the World Championships on dark winter nights.