Karen Khachanov is the winner of the second edition of the tie break-tournament Red Bull BassLine. The Russian beat Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in the finals in four sets.
The fans in the sold out location Erste Bank Open 2 Go were served an entertaining evening. Six of the Erste Bank Open’s stars featured in the second edition of Red Bull BassLine. Andrey Rublev and Taylor Fritz, the two top-seeds, enjoyed a by in the first round.
To kick things off, Grigror Dimitrov made short work of local hero Filip Misolic winning 7-1, 10-8. Afterwards, Khachanov beat Argentinian Diego Schwartzman 7-4, 7-3.
In the semi-finals Dimitrov staged a comeback against Andrey Rublev after losing the first set to win it in three 5-7, 7-5 7-4. Immediately afterwards, Khachanov cruised to a 7-3, 7-4 win against Fritz to also reach the finals.
But first, it was the small finals where Rublev easily beat Fritz 7-2, 7-5.
In the big finals, the fans were treated to some really great tennis. In the end it was Khachanov who prevailed 7-5, 7-5, 4-7, 8-6 against Dimitrov to win the trophy. Last year, it was Spanish youngster Carlos Alcaraz who was the first winner of this new format.
The excited fans got to marvel not only at the great tennis, but were also entertained by other things like having the heart-rate of the players displayed live on the LED boards or matches without umpires. Instead, the players decided themselves in close situations. Also, a DJ played music throughout the event and during intermissions, BMX artists and breakdancers were showing off their skills.