Karen Khachanov captures Doha title, Cameron Norrie crashes out of Rio race
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Navone's victory set up an all-Argentina clash in Sunday's final
DOHA/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters/AFP) – No 2 seed Karen Khachanov defeated Czech teenager Jakub Mensik 7-6 (12), 6-4 Saturday to win his sixth career title at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha.
The 27-year-old Russian did not drop a set all week, a record he kept intact by fighting off four set points in the opening-set tiebreak.
Khachanov prevailed on the 26th point of the tiebreak by crushing a forehand return on Mensik's big serve, then collected the only break of the match in the opening game of the second set.
"I stayed strong, I'm extremely happy that I won the first set. It lifted me a lot and gave me a lot of confidence to step up in the second," said Khachanov, whose one-hour, 49-minute victory delivered his first title since Zhuhai in September.
Mensik, competing in only his third tour-level event, was the youngest finalist in Doha history. He hammered 16 aces and finished with 33 winners and 10 unforced errors.
NAVONE DOWNS NORRIE
Defending champion Cameron Norrie crashed out of the ATP Rio Open clay court tournament on Saturday, slumping to a straight sets semi-final defeat against Argentinian qualifier Mariano Navone.
British No1 Norrie – aiming to win back-to-back titles in Rio after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in last year's final – struggled in hot and humid conditions before sliding to a 6-4, 6-2 defeat.
The 22-year-old Navone, currently ranked 113th in the world, was handed three match points when Norrie smacked a forehand long in the eighth game of the second set.
Another miscued return by the second-seeded British world number 23 sealed victory for the Argentine youngster, who advances to the first ATP final of his career, where he will face compatriot Sebastien Baez.
"It's incredible, my first final," Navone said after the win. "I played so good all week. Today was very hot and humid, it's tough to play in these conditions.
"But I've played six matches in a row so I feel pretty good."
Navone's victory set up an all-Argentina clash in Sunday's final on the Quadra Guga Kuerten show court after Sebastian Baez defeated compatriot Francisco Cerundolo in Saturday's other semi-final.
Baez saved three set points in the first set of his clash with Cerundolo before going on to win 7-5, 6-0.
"We know each other too much, I think, more than I want," Baez said after his semi-final win. "All matches are different. Today it's going to my side.
"In the first set, I gave many break points to him. I had to take it because it's so hard for both."
