Karen Khachanov and Luciano Darderi will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they square off in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday.
Darderi is playing well right now, but he is the epitome of a clay court specialist. All four of the Argentine’s titles have come from the red and before these two days he had only won two matches at hard court Grand Slams in his entire career.
Khachanov, on the other hand, is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist (including the Aussie Open) and has reached four other major quarterfinals. The Russian has looked good so far in Melbourne, knocking off tough Americans Alex Michelsen and Nishesh Basavareddy.
Pick: Khachanov at 4
