Khachanov excited about Mubadala World Tennis

Dubai - It's a great tournament. I have heard many positive things about the Abu Dhabi tournament, Khachanov said

Karen Khachanov was such a big Marat Safin fan that he modelled his game on the two-time Grand Slam champion. 
It was his 'Safinesque' game that stunned Novak Djokovic in the Paris Masters final in November, announcing his arrival at the highest level.

Now the Mubadala World Tennis Championship (December 27-29) in Abu Dhabi offers the 22-year-old Khachanov a wonderful opportunity to test his form at the start of the new season.
The Abu Dhabi tournament has attracted players like Djokovic, Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Kevin Anderson and Hyeon Chung. Khachanov will take on French Open runner-up Thiem, one of his victims in Paris, in his first match in Abu Dhabi. 
"It's a great tournament. I have heard many positive things about the Abu Dhabi tournament," Khachanov, who will be making his Abu Dhabi debut, told Khaleej Times.
"And they have some of the world's best players in the tournament. It's a great chance to play and compete with these great players at the start of the year. It's a great preparation for me just before Melbourne," said Khachanov, who was only four when the maverick Safin stunned Pete Sampras with a brutal straight-set win in the 2000 US Open final. 
"When I was young, I was watching him play. I liked the way he was as a person - he was a charismatic player on the court and he was so powerful. A similar game I was trying to play when I was young," Khachanov said.
Eighteen years after that US Open final in New York, Khachanov made history by becoming the first Russian since Safin to win the Paris Masters, beating world number one Djokovic in straight sets in the final.
Djokovic was in unstoppable form going into that Paris final, but Khachanov's combination of powerful groundstrokes and athleticism brought the Serb to his knees.
"It was the biggest success, the biggest title of my career so far," the 22-year-old Khachanov said.
"I beat four top-10 players to win the Paris Masters. I am really proud of the level that I showed. I hope it just motivates me to try to win more titles."
Khachanov says beating a superstar like Djokovic in the final was special. 
"First of all, I am really happy that I played this kind of final. I played the world number one in the final. It's great that I am able to play and compete against players like Roger (Federer), Rafa (Nadal), Novak, Andy (Murray) and (Juan Martin) Del Potro, you know. When I was young I was watching them play and now I am playing and competing with them at the highest level. So winning against Novak, it was just great," the world number 11 said. 
But the Moscow-born player is aware of the growing expectations after his Paris triumph.
"Of course, expectations will always be bigger. There is always going to be some pressure, but you have to deal with this kind of pressure," he said.
"You have to believe in yourself and try to improve and try to be a better person, better player. And hopefully with this attitude, I can reach the next level." 
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com