Russian Karen Khachanov, the No. 11 seed, recovered from first-and-second-set deficits on Monday against Jaume Munar of Spain to book his place in the Mutua Madrid Open second round. Khachanov battled past wild card Munar 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3, in three hours, to snap a five-match losing streak for a meeting against Radu Albot or two-time former quarter-finalist Fernando Verdasco.
"I am really happy with my performance today and I tried to fight until the end," said Khachanov. "It's the kind of game I've been looking for. I am really happy to get through to the second round, to build my confidence and go back to basics. This is the kind of win, over three hours, physically demanding, that I needed."
Munar led 3-0 in both the first and second sets, only to see his advantages evaporate, including one set point on serve at 5-3, 40/30 in the second set. Khachanov won five of the first six games in the decider en route to an eighth match win of 2019 (8-10).
Khachanov has shown what he is capable of at the ATP Masters 1000 level before, beating four Top 10 player to lift the trophy at last year's Rolex Paris Masters. The Russian captured three titles last season (all on hard courts), and he is pursuing his first victory on clay.
Entering the week, Khachanov has a better winning percentage on clay (54.3%) than he does hard (53.5%). The 22-year-old has advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros two years in a row.
Frenchman Richard Gasquet won his first match of the season, eliminating Estoril semi-finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-5, 7-6(5) in one hour and 57 minutes. The World No. 39 underwent groin surgery on 18 January.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour http://bit.ly/2J51cRM
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