Tennis Prediction Khachanov vs Shevchenko: Rome R1

Complete Analysis

Pogz is quite surprised to see Karen Khachanov so heavily favoured in this duel against Alexander Shevchenko. Indeed, when you look at the Russian’s recent form, it’s clearly not reassuring. Khachanov has lost 7 of his last 10 matches, and his only recent wins have come against other struggling players: Dimitrov, Walton and Bautista-Agut.

You can sense a player lacking confidence, less solid in the important moments, and above all much more fragile as soon as the rallies start to build up. On the other side, Shevchenko is coming off a very interesting match against Camilo Ugo Carabelli, a real mental and physical victory that must have given him a lot of confidence for the rest of the tournament.

Moreover, the matchup is far from as unbalanced as the odds suggest. The two players have already faced each other this season in Dubai, with a victory for Khachanov after a tough battle: 7-6 6-2 6-3. But here, on the slow clay of Rome, Pogz tends to see Karen much more exposed. Shevchenko is indeed capable of holding the ball, lengthening the rallies and pushing his opponent into making mistakes, which is clearly not ideal for a player lacking confidence like Khachanov.

Pogz is not necessarily saying that Shevchenko will win, but he sees him totally capable of covering the +4.5 game handicap.