Paris Masters: Karen Khachanov hammers ailing Alexander Zverev

TIL Desk Sports/ Russian Karen Khachanov pulled off one of the big surprises of the Paris Masters when he outplayed top young gun Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2 on Friday to earn a semi-final against Dominic Thiem.

Khachanov, at 22 another of the sport’s brightest prospects, took ruthless advantage of the 21-year-old German’s physical struggles as Zverev, battling with shoulder trouble, needed a medical time out in the first set at 4-1 down.

The Muscovite deserved all the credit for the quality of his power game, however, as he broke the world number five’s serve six times in 70 minutes to set up a date with Austrian Thiem, who later beat champion Jack Sock 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Zverev looked frustrated at his serving woes and being pushed around by the world number 18. At the end of a one-sided first set, he complained to Khachanov about the over-zealous reactions of the Russian’s camp at courtside.