French Open: With a 4-6 7-6 (7-0), 6-2, 6-4 victory against Karen Khachanov, Novak Djokovic advanced to the French Open semifinals.
With Stefanos Tsitsipas, the fifth seed, facing world number one Carlos Alcaraz later on Tuesday, the result opens up the possibility of a confrontation.
Even if he didn’t have it all his own way against Khachanov, Djokovic, who has won the men’s singles tournament at Roland Garros twice previously, is still on track to win a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam trophy.
The 36-year-old eventually lost his first set of the tournament despite not having a single break opportunity in the first set.
Instead, Khachanov, a semi-finalist at the Australian Open earlier this year and the US Open in September, snatched Djokovic’s serve to take the lead 3-2. Although the Serb threatened in the ninth game, which lasted eleven minutes, the 11th seed held, and continued to hold out for a 6-4 victory.
In the second set, neither player faced a break point as Khachanov forced the third-ranked player to a tie-break. However, the Russian faltered at a vital time and failed to score a point as Djokovic levelled the match.
Following that, Djokovic broke the defeated Khachanov early in the third set and later stole his serve once again to take the match.
The fourth set followed a similar pattern, with Djokovic again collecting an early break, but this time the Serb’s double fault enabled Khachanov to even the score at 4-4.
However, the 27-year-old was unable to capitalise on that break in his subsequent service game and was broken to love by Djokovic as he quickly and convincingly won the match. The match was concluded with an ace.
Djokovic says he had trouble keeping his rhythm: “I came in a bit sluggish.”
“He [Khachanov] was the better player for most of the first two sets,” stated Djokovic after his victory.
“I was having trouble getting into a rhythm; I felt a little lethargic going into this.
“Then, after playing a flawless tie-break, I played a few levels higher and managed to win eight straight points to seal the victory.”
“I missed a few simple shots today,” he said. These things occur; sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail.
“He serves well, but he might not move as well, so I attempted to expose him by playing erratically.
“It was a fierce battle, but that is to be expected in a Grand Slam quarterfinal.”
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