Aleksandar Vukic - Karen Khachanov predictions and free betting tips [12/06/2024]

Today, in the second round of the grass-court tournament in ’s-Hertogenbosch, Australian Aleksandar Vukic will face Russian Karen Khachanov.

Aleksandar Vukic

Ranked 87th in the world, Alexander Vukic began his campaign at the ’s-Hertogenbosch tournament with a decisive victory over compatriot Max Purcell. The match ended with a score of 6-3, 7-6. Vukic showcased an excellent serve, not losing a single game and winning 83% of his first-serve points. His effectiveness was bolstered by 11 aces, highlighting his powerful serve. Last week, Vukic also participated in the Surbiton tournament, where he defeated Denis Shapovalov in the first round 6-3, 7-6, although he later lost to Lloyd Harris 1-6, 6-7 in the following round. Despite this defeat, his performance in Surbiton provided valuable experience on grass courts, which Vukic hopes to leverage in ’s-Hertogenbosch. The tournament in ’s-Hertogenbosch represents a crucial opportunity for Vukic to improve his grass-court record, where he currently has an equal number of wins and losses in his career.

Karen Khachanov

Karen Khachanov, the world number 22, will play in the second round of the grass-court tournament in ’s-Hertogenbosch, but his performance has been less than stellar. The Russian, who will soon travel to Paris for the Olympics, lags behind even Roman Safiullin in terms of play, not to mention more successful compatriots Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev. Despite reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open 2024 and winning the Doha tournament on hard courts, his form has noticeably declined. In Doha, Khachanov secured victories over Mensik, Popyrin, Ruusuvuori, and Marozsan. The spring clay-court season was disastrous for Khachanov. He only reached the fourth round in Monte Carlo, losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas 2-6, 4-6. In Madrid, he was defeated by Jannik Sinner, and in Rome, he was eliminated in the first round. At the French Open, despite leading 2-0 in sets against the world number 119 Jozef Kovalik, Khachanov sensationally lost 2-3 (6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 4-6).

Khachanov's grass-court play remains shaky. Throughout his career, he holds a positive balance (25-14), but his achievements are limited. He missed the entire last grass season due to injury. His best result in 2021 was the Wimbledon quarterfinals, where he lost to Canadian Denis Shapovalov 2-3 (6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 1-6, 4-6) after leading 2-1 in sets. Khachanov hasn't beaten a top-30 opponent on grass since 2019, when he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in an exhibition tournament in Bad Homburg with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 10-8. Karen needs to seriously improve his game to achieve success on grass courts and at the upcoming Olympics in Paris.

Head-to-head

The opponents have met only once in 2021 at the Australian Open. The Russian won with a score of 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.

Match Prediction: Vukic vs Khachanov

Karen has been disappointing the fans; I believe the Australian will put up a fight and the game will go over the total in games. In 2 out of 3 matches on grass, Vukic played tiebreaks. Karen has an excellent serve, but it’s unlikely he will easily close out the opponent.