Karen Khachanov snapped a five-match semi-final losing streak on Monday at the Huafa Properties Zhuhai Championships, defeating Sebastian Korda 7-5, 6-4 to reach her first title of the season.
The top seed, who last contested a tour-level final in Adelaide in January 2022 (l. to Monfils), red-lined the ball throughout the one-hour, 47-minute contest. He lost a tight first set, getting the crucial break at 5-5 when Korda just found the net with a drop shot.
Khachanov quickly put his foot down in the second set, hitting the ball with more depth, weight and precision to dominate the baseline exchanges and improve 3-2 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
The 27-year-old is competing for the fourth time in singles since her quarter-final match at Roland Garros, where she suffered a stress fracture in her back. He fell in the first round of the US Open, but he recorded three victories in Zhuhai, also defeating Alex Bolt and Mackenzie McDonald.
The World No. 15 will face Japanese star Yoshihito Nishioka or Aslan Karatsev in the championship match this Tuesday. Khachanov is looking to win his first title since 2018 and fifth overall. He has tasted success on Chinese soil before, lifting the trophy in Chengdu in 2016.
Korda is competing in his eighth tour-level semi-final and is looking to reach his sixth final. The 23-year-old American climbed five spots to No. 28 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his results at the ATP 250 hard-court event.