Karen Khachanov admits he’s feeling like a 'zombie' after quick turnaround from Canada to Cincinnati

Karen Khachanov enjoyed his best tournament in years last time out, narrowly coming up short in Toronto.

When Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic all withdrew from the Canadian Open, several lower-profile ATP Tour stars were gifted a great chance of making a deep run.

Taking the opportunity with both hands, Khachanov defeated the likes of Casper Ruud and Alex Michelsen en route to the semifinals.

Stepping onto Centre Court as a big underdog against the world number three, the Russian produced one of the biggest wins of his career when Khachanov defeated Alexander Zverev to book his place in the final.

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Winning the first-set tiebreaker, the 29-year-old moved within touching distance of the title, but couldn’t quite get over the line, as Khachanov lost to Ben Shelton, 7-6, 4-6, 6-7.

With the tournaments controversially overlapping in 2025, Khachanov didn’t have long to rest and soon jetted off to Ohio for the Cincinnati Open.

Providing an update on his condition ahead of his opening match in Cincinnati, Khachanov admitted he’s far from 100%.

Karen Khachanov says he’s in a ‘zombie state’ and feels tired after quick turnaround

During an interview with Russian media outlet ‘Bolshe!’, Khachanov recalled his struggles with the quick turnaround from Toronto to Cincinnati.

“Most of all, I’m feeling tired,” he said.

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“Yesterday we finished late, by the time we finished everything, the time we arrived at the hotel, I was getting to bed at 3.30 a.m.

“At 7.15 a.m. I had to leave the hotel and fly to Cincinnati by plane.

“Therefore, this is the main thing now, despite the fact that it was a difficult match, of course, the final, but I think sleep is the main thing [missing].

“Today, I’m in a kind of zombie state.”

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A lot has been made of the scheduling of the two tournaments in 2025, as the Cincinnati Open began on the same day as the Canadian Open finals.

Therefore, Khachanov didn’t have the time to rest up as he would at other events.

Looking to recover in time for his opening match, Khachanov is trying to shake off the disappointment of his final defeat to Shelton.

“In any case, when you play in the final, you want to finish the job,” he said.

“But I also realize that it was a good week, not even a week, two weeks, the Masters 1000 events now last almost two weeks.

“A good tournament, of course, if we had spoken before the tournament, I would have signed up for the final.

“So it’s been a good week, there are only positive emotions, and now we are preparing to start Cincinnati in a day or so.”

Khachanov will begin his Cincinnati Open campaign on Sunday, August 10, against French qualifier Valentin Royer.

The Russian will be hoping to make another deep run as he edges closer to a top ten return.

How close is Karen Khachanov to the ATP top ten?

If Khachanov had beaten Shelton in the Canadian Open final, he would have returned to the world’s top ten for the first time since 2023, but it wasn’t to be.

Reaching the final did, however, put him on the verge of a top-ten return, as he’ll be in with a chance of making the breakthrough should he perform in Cincinnati.

Rank Name Age Nationality Points 8 Alex de Minaur 26 Australian 3,480 9 Holger Rune 22 Danish 3,340 10 Lorenzo Musetti 23 Italian 3,235 11 Andrey Rublev 27 Russian 3,210 12 Karen Khachanov 29 Russian 3,190 13 Casper Ruud 26 Norwegian 2,995 14 Frances Tiafoe 27 American 2,890 15 Daniil Medvedev 29 Russian 2,760 16 Tommy Paul 28 American 2,610 17 Jakub Mensik 19 Czech 2,396 Snapshot of the Official ATP Rankings

With fewer points to defend this week than Holger Rune and Andrey Rublev (two players ranked above him), Khachanov currently sits tenth in the live rankings.

If he can simply outperform those around him in Mason, Ohio, Khachanov will become a top-ten player once more.

That is, of course, easier said than done, as the top ten is highly competitive in 2025.

He’ll want to get his campaign off to a strong start with a win over Royer, and then look ahead to the rest of the tournament.

World number three Zverev is lurking in his section of the draw, as the pair could contest a Toronto rematch in round four.

Only time will tell how Khachanov will perform in Cincinnati, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.

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