MOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov reached Round 4 of the 2023 French Open in Paris after defeating on Friday Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia.

In the match that lasted 3 hours and 42 minutes, Khachanov managed to outplay his Australian opponent with the final score of 6-4; 6-1; 3-6; 7-6 (7-5).

The Russian tennis player, who is playing under a neutral status in France, is now scheduled to play against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in Round 4 of the Grand Slam tournament in France.

Khachanov, 27, who is 11th in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Rankings List, is the winner of four ATP titles and his best performance in the Grand Slam series was when he reached the semi-final rounds at the 2022 US Open and the 2023 Australian Open. Khachanov also clinched the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in men’s singles.

One of tennis’ four Grand Slam events, the 2023 French Open is taking place in the "City of Light" between May 28 and June 11. The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts and offers a purse of 49.6 million euros (almost $53.2 million) in prize money.

Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments

In line with international tennis regulations, Russian tennis players are participating in the tournament under a neutral status.

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC’s recommendations, in late February 2022 the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

However, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but only as neutrals.