After wrapping up his Toronto outing, where Ben Shelton bested him 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, Karen Khachanov only wanted to return to his bed. But if only he had time… Talking to the media and completing other requirements as a runner-up, he made his way to the hotel late at 3:30 am. However, the 12th-ranked star couldn’t catch up much on sleep. He had a flight to catch by 7:15 am with the Canadian Open finals overlapping the Cincinnati Open’s opening rounds. With no time for a turnaround from Toronto to Ohio, he didn’t mince words to clarify his health as he stated, “Today, I feel like a zombie.” The Cincinnati heat did little to help.

Still, Khachanov entered his first round, wanting to forget about his Toronto loss to Shelton. On the way to the round of 16, he did find success in defeating Valentin Royer first and then Jenson Brooksby in two straight-set victories. But this time, he had a more challenging opponent. Although he had already bested Alexander Zverev in Canada just weeks ago, the addition of weather conditions and the lack of rest only made everything tougher. Not able to hit in his usual form, the Russian already gave up the first set 7-5. Before even completing the second, he had an update.

The official X account Tennis Channel tweeted about the round of 16 clash between Khachanov and Alexander Zverev. In the post, they updated, “Not the ending this deserved! Feel better soon, Karen ❤️‍🩹 Zverev will face the winner of Shelton vs. Lehecka in the quarterfinals.” The attached image had a text that said, “Khachanov is forced to retire, Zverev advances to quarterfinals.” 

The in-form Russian star has now joined the list of players who have been forced to come up with an abrupt ending to their matches. So far, even before the completion of the third round matches, we saw four retirements and three walkovers in this tournament. America’s Frances Tiafoe and Jakub Mensik were the most recent ones before this to bring an abrupt end to their matches.

Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech was forced to throw in the towel after collapsing mid-match against Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime on Monday. Several players, including Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, had previously voiced their concerns over the extreme heat, which has been a major cause for these withdrawals.

Karen Khachanov retired in the middle of the second set against the world number 3. The score at that point read 7-5, 3-0, in favor of the German. Reason for the withdrawal could be fatigue again! He called for the physio before taking the call for eighth retirement at the Cincinnati Open.

Khachanov wasn’t hitting properly in his ninth meeting with the German. It made it clear that he was either extremely tired or ill. With this easy route to the QF, Alexander Zverev has now got a lead in their H2H record (6-3). Alexander Zverev will next face either Ben Shelton or Jiri Lehecka in his next match.

Some players in this tournament have already complained about the conditions. For example, after his early exit from this tournament, Daniil Medvedev said, “It was very tough physically and, unfortunately, in these conditions, I think physicality becomes the priority.”

After one of her recent matches, even Elena Rybakina admitted, “In the first set, the sun hit quite badly on me.” Felix Auger-Aliassime claimed that, “It feels like we’re in oven.”

Hearing all these complaints and successive withdrawals, Coco Gauff’s ex-coach, Brad Gilbert, came up with a solution.

Multiple retirements at the Cincinnati Open draw reactions from Coco Gauff’s ex-coach

After his match against Nishesh Basavareddy, even Alexander Zverev claimed that he needs some days to get used to the heat and conditions at the Cincinnati Open. Several players are seen clutching an ice pack between points to cool down their body temperatures. Seeing all this, Brand Gilbert initially came up with a tweet saying, “There has been quite a few retirements so far in the men’s Cincy, much warmer conditions this year so far, but traditionally this tournament 🏟️ very warm weather is the normal for a long time.”

Following that, the renowned coach also offered a remedy to this issue by saying, “There isn’t a heat rule i believe @atptour level. the @WTA has something that there is 10 min break after 2sets, should definitely be something if to extreme no play, like they have in melbourne, or if over heat index 10 mins break after 2sets.” Unlike the WTA, the ATP doesn’t have a heat rule across all the tournaments, and this is where he thinks the organizers need to work.

As for Karen Khachnov, who was in red-hot form recently, it’s not good to join the caravan of players who failed to finish their matches at the Cincinnati Open. He has a win-loss record of 29-17 this season, and his big-hitting game has now brought him to the brink of a Top 10 return in this North American summer.

In a recent interview with ATP, Karen Khachanov shared his goal by saying, “My biggest goal is to try and be back in the Top 10, where I was able to break through two years ago before getting injured.” He claimed he’s now pumped up to achieve his goals, and he also has a dream to win a Grand Slam title.

A win against Zverev at the Cincinnati Open would have not only increased his chances of breaking into the Top 10, but it would have also boosted his confidence ahead of the US Open. For now, both will have to wait. Do you think this 29-year-old Russian can make a strong comeback from this setback?