Karen Khachanov vs Michael Mmoh Prediction: Bookmakers are on the side of the Russian

The first opponent of world No. 11 Karen Khachanov at the U.S. Open will be American Michael Mmoh. The guys haven't crossed paths in the Tour, and Karen hasn't appeared on a professional court since Roland Garros, while Mmoh has a good game practice, but despite this practice, bookmakers are on the side of the Russian in the pairing.

We can only guess what kind of shape Karen Khachanov is in because we haven't seen him since June 6, the quarterfinals of the French Open. Back then, he lost to Djokovic in 4 games, but overall, he performed very well at the most prestigious clay court tournament. Hard court is Karen's favorite surface. The Russian reached the semifinals at the US Open and Australian Open, so there is little doubt that Karen is well-prepared for the tournament.

The 89th-ranked player has played four hardcourt events since Wimbledon and a total of 11 matches, four of which he lost. At the most recent tournament in Winston Salem, Mmoh was stronger than King and Giron but lost in three sets to Croatian Ćorić. Borna won the first set 6:4 but lost the second game 6:7. Mmoh managed to take only three games in the deciding third set.

Khachanov has historically performed well in New York, so once again, we do not doubt that the Russians managed to prepare for the tournament with quality despite the lack of match practice. The American played four games after the grass part of the season, but we can't call his result outstanding; mediocre is the right word. We believe that Karen will win in the first round, most likely not very easy, say, one set Mmoh will win, but no more than that.