Lyon Open 2021: Richard Gasquet vs Karen Khachanov preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: Richard Gasquet vs (8) Karen Khachanov

Date: 21 May 2021

Tournament: Lyon Open 2021

Round: Quarterfinals

Venue: Lyon, France

Category: ATP 250

Surface: Red clay

Prize money: €419,470

Match timing: Approx. 2.30 pm local time, 12.30 pm GMT, 8.30 am EST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport

Richard Gasquet vs Karen Khachanov preview

Richard Gasquet secured a spot in his first quarterfinal of the season with a straight-sets victory over third seed Diego Schwartzman. Awaiting the Frenchman in the last eight is Russia's Karen Khachanov, who eased to a straight-sets win over Kamil Majchrzak.

Khachanov seems to have hit his stride in Lyon after a difficult start to the claycourt season. The Russian has managed to come through a couple of hard-fought encounters and will be keen to carry that momentum into the business end of the tournament.

Richard Gasquet vs Karen Khachanov head-to-head

Richard Gasquet will be playing his first quarterfinal of the season.

This will be the first career meeting between Richard Gasquet and Karen Khachanov, so their current head-to-head stands at 0-0.

Richard Gasquet vs Karen Khachanov prediction

Both Richard Gasquet and Karen Khachanov have struggled to find their best tennis this season and the match could swing in favor of the player who keeps the unforced errors in check.

Gasquet, when he finds his groove, can trouble the best of players with his clean ball striking - especially off the backhand wing.

The match is unlikely to feature too many long rallies as both players will look to take control of the points from the get-go.

Gasquet's relative lack of match practice heading into Friday's clash could ultimately prove to be the deciding factor if things go down to the wire.

Prediction: Karen Khachanov to win in three sets.

About the author

Vedant is an experienced journalist at Sportskeeda, having been part of the team since 2016. Known for his insightful coverage of Tennis, Hockey, and Olympic sports at the company, he has also been contributing to the Hindustan Times for the past 3 years.

Holding a Master's degree in English, and a PG Diploma in Print Journalism, Vedant's academic background equips him well for his journalism endeavors. He has covered the Olympics qualifiers on the ground, taken exclusive interviews with multiple Indian Olympians, and clinched Sportskeeda's prestigious Writer Award for Best Olympics Commentator in 2021.

While Vedant remains neutral on the Tennis GOAT debate, he holds a deep admiration for Tsvetana Pironkova and Petra Kvitova for their unparallelled grasscourt skills and personalities, along with Juan Martin del Potro. As for tournaments, his heart is undeniably drawn to Wimbledon, and when asked why, he simply states, "There's something about the grass."

Beyond his passion for sports, he enjoys traveling and has a soft spot for good movies.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram