Alex Molcan vs Karen Khachanov Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Beijing Open

Prediction published on 01/10/2026, 11:55  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 01/10/2026 at 12:53 in Tennis Predictions

There is just one seed remaining in the bottom half of the China Open after the first round. In this second round match, unseeded Karen Khachanov faces qualifier Alex Molcan. Khachanov beat second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in round one and recently made it to the US Open semi-finals. Our prediction is he'll win this in straight sets.

In the last eight, the winner will take on either unseeded Hubert Hurkacz or qualifier Arthur Gea.

Karen Khachanov is the world number 26 and that's 70 places above Molcan.

The Russian only lost six games when he beat Auger-Aliassime in round one, his second recent win over the Canadian.

In his last seven matches, only Alexander Zverev has beaten Khachanov.

There's been one previous meeting between these players, Molcan won that but it was played on clay in 2022.

Molcan has only played seven outdoor hard court matches this year, winning four of them. That's compared to the 12-10 record Khachanov has.

Three of those wins have come in this tournament. He had to win two qualifying matches to reach the main draw. The first saw him require three sets to get past Vit Kopriva, two going to a tie-break.  Round one of the main draw saw Molcan defeat lucky loser Tomas Machac 6-3 6-2.