Khachanov beat Alexander Zverev 6-1 6-2 in the quarter-finals but the match was marred when the German lost his cool in the first set.
He confronted Khachanov at a change of ends and although microphones didn’t pick up exactly what was said, there are suggestions Zverev was unhappy about noise coming from the Russian’s camp.
That was confirmed by Khachanov who said Zverev was ‘p***ed off’ with a cry of support.
“When you are losing you maybe get p***ed or frustrated with some calls from somebody in the crowd,” he said.
“Maybe he was p***ed that someone in my box screamed on his mistake – and that was the reason. We are good friends outside the court and everything is fine.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
“During the match sometimes you can’t control yourself and you get frustrated by all these things.”
But Khachanov’s comments forced Buckland to quickly move to diffuse the problem.
“Apologies for the language – that’s what he was saying,” Buckland said. “I think we understood what he meant here.”
Khachanov will meet Dominic Thiem or defending champion Jack Sock in Saturday’s semi-final.
“Both of them are good players. Jack didn’t have so good season this year and he plays well here,” Khachanov said.
“Dominic is always a tough opponent. I’m just really looking forward to playing whoever it is.
“I’m enjoying the final tournament of the year and I’m playing good tennis.”
The earlier confrontation had pundit Annabel Croft interested, who said: “I wish we could have heard what was said there.
“I do think it was about the support camp, from what I understand on-site.
“I thought it showed what a strong mind Khachanov had. For many players, if someone gives a bit of jip, other players may have crumbled emotionally and lost their focus and concentration but he just came back right at him.
“He ignored it and forged on through. It was a fantastic performance but an annihalation in terms of the scoreline.”