Karen Khachanov suggests he wasn't that surprised by the Toronto crowd's reaction to Victoria Mboko's Montreal triumph as the Russian says stuff like this is pretty common in Canada.
In case you missed it, the clock struck at 30 minutes of play in the Toronto Masters final when the crowd started going nuts - it happened as Khachanov was preparing to serve against Ben Shelton. The Russian stood there waiting for the spectators to calm down, while his American rival looked in disbelief and had no idea what was happening. The chair umpire provided quick explanation by telling the 22-year-old that the crowd was probably celebrating Mboko's win over Naomi Osaka in the Montreal final.
When the play continued, Khachanov managed to win a very tight opener against Shelton with a 7-6 (5) scoreline. Unfortunately for the Russian, he didn't manage to complete the job as Shelton came back from a set down to win 6-7 (5) 6-4 7-6 (3).
Khachanov comments on the viral Toronto final interruption
In his post-final presser, Khachanov was asked whether he had experienced anything like that before. And he said that something similar happened when Denis Shapovalov upset Rafael Nadal at the Canadian Open eight years ago.
"I think in Canada it's happening, but, yeah, if I remember, I think every year it happens, you know, from city to city they cheer for a local player, yeah. I remember I think in long time ago it was with Shapovalov, when he reached also like first time semifinals I think when he beat Rafa. I was playing I guess in Toronto, and then I remember something like this was happening, yeah," the 29-year-old said.
