PARIS, November 2. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov secured a berth in the quarterfinals of the 2023 ATP (the Association of Tennis Professionals) Paris Masters Tournament after defeating his compatriot Roman Safiullin on Thursday.
In a match that lasted over two hours, the 16th-seeded Khachanov outplayed qualifier Safiullin 4-6; 6-4; 6-2.
Khachanov, 27, who is currently 15th in the ATP Rankings, is the winner of five ATP titles. His best performance in the Grand Slam series was when he reached the semifinal rounds at the 2022 US Open and the 2023 Australian Open. Khachanov also clinched the silver medal in men’s singles at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Safiullin is 26 years old and he is currently 45th in the ATP Rankings. Earlier this week, he made sports news headlines after stunning Spain’s Alcaraz with a 6-3; 6-4 straight sets win in the second round of the tennis tournament which kicked off in the French capital on Sunday.
Russia’s Khachanov, who plays on the ATP tour under a neutral status, is now set to play in the quarterfinals against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
The 7th-seeded Greek player powered past his German opponent Alexander Zverev later in the day with a straight sets win of 7-6; 6-4 that took less than two hours to finish.
"It’s awesome. What a great relief to finally get that spot," the ATP’s official website quoted Tsitsipas as saying after the match against Zverev. "I’m thrilled to be playing good tennis. I’m humbled in victory now and I really want to keep going strong…"
The 2023 Paris Masters tournament is an ATP Masters 1,000 event and is being played on indoor hard courts at the Accor Arena in Paris between October 30 and November 5. The tournament offers 2.779 million euros (over $2.9 million) in prize money.
The tournament’s reigning champion is Holger Rune of Denmark. Notable Russians to win the tournament in Paris include Marat Safin (2000, 2002, 2004), Nikolai Davydenko (2006), Karen Khachanov (2018) and Daniil Medvedev (2020).
Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
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.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also cancelling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
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 under a neutral status.