Khachanov is moving on into the second round after he sent Rudolf Molleker packing with a 6-4, 6-3 win. Khachanov was barely touched by Molleker, who ate seven aces from the 21-year-old Russian.
Khachanov converted four of his five break point opportunities against Molleker and won 71 percent of his first serve points. So far this year, Khachanov is 12th among all players in first serve percentage in clay court matches per the ATP World Tour stat page.
Another encouraging sign for Khachanov heading into the second round is his 2-0 match advantage in his career against Bedene. Khachanov beat Bedene twice last year in separate clay court tournaments in Istanbul and Barcelona, dropping just one set in total.
Betting on Aljaz Bedene
World no. 46 Aljaz Bedene is going to see another day in Germany following a 6-1, 6-2 conquest of Jose Hernandez-Fernandez in the first round. It was as easy as what the score suggests with Bedene recording a 68 percent success rate on his first serves and 74 percent first serve points won. On top of those, Bedene was able to translate four of the 10 break point chances that landed on his lap.
While he’s dropped two matches against Khachanov before, Bedene sure made a mark on Khachanov as he didn’t made it easy for his opponent. Back in the Istanbul match, Bedene even recorded a better first serve percentage than Khachanov, 69 percent to 67 percent.
