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Bernabe Zapata Miralles, the Spanish international who currently ranks 71 in the ATP rankings, is set to face his Russian counterpart, Karen Khachanov, in the first round of the 2023 Australian Open.
The 26-year-old, Miralles, is coming into this tournament for the first time with his career-best ranking. Prior to this, he participated in Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open, round of 16 at the French Open last year, his personal best performance.
It's now his chance to try his luck in the first grand slam of the year but he is against a formidable opponent who has been in such situations a number of times.
This is Karen Khachanov's seventh consecutive appearance at the Australian Open. He has managed to reach the Round of 32 four years in a row but has failed to get past that.
He is seeded No.18 in this tournament and will be looking to qualify for the first round without much difficulty. He is a recipient of the ATP 1000 Masters title and has a total of 11 singles titles to his name. The strong Russian usually relies on his powerful big groundstrokes from behind the baseline.
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Bernabe Zapata Miralles vs Karen Khachanov: Betting Odds
Bernabe started the 2023 season on a bad note, playing only two games and losing both of them. The two losses have come on the hard courts, a clear sign that he needs to practice more on this surface. It is going to be a big challenge to face a seasoned player like Karen in the first round.
Khachanov have had three wins and two losses so far this year. All this has come on the hard courts. This has surely helped him get the match practice he needed before a big tournament like the Australian Open.
Bernabe Zapata Miralles vs Karen Khachanov: Match Details
Fixture: Bernade Zapata Miralles @ Karen Khachanov
Date & Time: Sunday, January 15, 08:30 p.m ET
Venue: Court 13, Melbourne Park
Bernabe vs Karen: Betting Prediction
This will be the first meeting between the two players ever. Karen is far more experienced in Grand Slam situations and reached as deep as the semi-finals of the US Open last year. Zapata, on the other hand, has only two years of experience in different Majors. This is his first appearance Down Under and it will be interesting to see how it fares.
Final Prediction: Karen -8.5 (-110)
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