The Biofile: Karen Khachanov

Karen Khachanov, the powerful Russian, has enjoyed his best success on hard courts this year, which includes his second ATP World Tour title at the Open 13 Provence (d. Pouille). The 22-year-old came into Roland Garros with a  3-4 record on clay courts and will be hoping to reach the fourth round in Paris for the second successive years.

Khachanov shares some of his tennis memories in this Biofile with Scoop Malinowski.

First Tennis Memory: I remember how I first started to play tennis with my first coach in Moscow. When I was a kid, I was exercising a lot. Then, we went to summer camp. Those are my early childhood memories.

Tennis Inspirations: My favourite players were Marat Safin and Juan Martin del Potro, when I was growing up. 

Last Book Read: Erich Maria Remarque, German writer.

First Famous Player You Met Or Encountered: It was Marat Safin. It's tough to say actually. Another Russian tennis player... (Igor) Andreev, (Igor) Kunitsyn, (Nikolai) Davydenko, (Yevgeny) Kafelnikov, (Andrei) Chesnokov. I met all of them when I was young and watched the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

Greatest Career Moment: I think when I won my first title at Chengdu in China (2016). And I would also say what stands out was Roland Garros when I reached Round of 16 last year.

Most Painful Moment: I think it's when I lost a Davis Cup match against Serbia last year in January. I lost to (Viktor) Troicki first rubber, 7-6 in the fifth set and 9-7 in the tie-break. We both had match points. The match was like four hours and 45 minutes and it was really painful to lose that match.

Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: Basketball.

Three Athletes You Like To Watch & Follow: LeBron James. Conor McGregor. Cristiano Ronaldo.

Favourite Tournaments: My favourite Grand Slam is Roland Garros and the US Open. From the ATP World Tour, each tournament is different. You always remember the tournaments where you played well at or you won. So that's why, so far, I like the ones that I won, Chengdu and Marseille. Of the [ATP World Tour] Masters 1000s, it would be Madrid. Monte Carlo is nice and so is Barcelona. It tough to say just one.

Funniest Players Encountered: (Gael) Monfils [smiles]. 

Closest Tennis Friends: (Andrey) Rublev, (Daniil) Medvedev, (Evgeny) Donskoy.

Why Do You Love Playing Tennis: Because of everything. I started to play tennis when I was young. I liked the game. I liked the tournaments and to compete. I like performing in tennis and trying to be the best.

Best You Ever Felt On The Court: Let me remember...let me think...I would say last year at Roland Garros. I played against Tomas Berdych in the second round. I remember I had really good feelings. I played really well from the beginning, to the end in that match. I beat him in three sets.

People Qualities Most Admired: Honesty...I'd say to be brave...and smart people.

Courtesy of Scoop Malinowski, tennis-prose.com. Scoop is the author of "Facing McEnroe", "Facing Nadal, "Facing Hewitt", "Facing Federer" and "Marcelo Rios: The Man We Barely Knew," all available on Amazon.