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Karen Khachanov took some time out during his recent on-court interview to acknowledge Brazilian football legend Ricardo Kaka, who was in the stands for his Qatar Open match against Emil Ruusuvuori on Thursday (February 22).
Khachanov led 3-0 in the first set before the Finn, ranked 43 in the world, retired from the match, citing back injury as the reason. During the on-court interview, the Russian spotted Kaka in the stands at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.
Khachanov admitted that he was a Real Madrid fan before waving to the former Los Blancos and AC Milan midfielder. He said:
"I'm looking forward to meet [sic.] one special player over there. Hala Madrid. I'm a fan of Real Madrid and I just wanted to say hello. I saw him on [sic.] the stands on the previous match, so yeah, just welcome him, you know."
During Khachanov's comments, the camera panned to Kaka a couple of times, and the 2002 FIFA World Cup winner was all smiles as he waved to the World No. 17. The ex-Real Madrid star's appearance in Qatar comes just a few days after his former Brazil and AC Milan teammate, Ronaldinho, was spotted watching Elena Rybakina's match against Leylah Fernandez in the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 in Doha.
Karen Khachanov to face Alexei Popyrin in Qatar Open SF
Karen Khachanov has now reached his second semi-final of the 2024 season, having previously lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the last four at Marseille earlier this month.
Khachanov was in a commanding position when Emil Ruusuvuori, who beat him earlier this season in the second round at the Hong Kong Open, retired from their match in Doha. The 27-year-old now has the task of facing Australia's Alexei Popyrin, who downed Alexander Bublik in straight sets in his previous match, in the semis.
Khachanov, who is the second seed in the ATP 250 in Qatar, has met Popyrin thrice on the Tour. While Khachanov won his first two encounters against him, the Aussie won their most recent meeting, which came in the first round of the ATP 500 Tokyo Open in October 2023.
The winner of this match will meet either Czech sensation Jakub Mensik or wild card Gael Monfils in the final. Mensik, in particular, is one to watch out for, considering the 18-year-old recently secured his first-ever Top-5 win, beating Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals on February 22.
