Novak Djokovic, third in the world, qualified on Tuesday for his 12th semifinal by winning his match against Russian Karen Khachanov (11th) 4-6, 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, 6-4.
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It will be his 12th semifinal at Roland Garros. Novak Djokovic, third in the world and seeking his 23rd Grand Slam title, qualified for the penultimate round of the tournament on Tuesday, June 6, beating Karen Khachanov (11th) 4-6, 7-6 (7/0 ), 6-2 and 6-4.
“It was better for most of the first two sets. I struggled to get into the match, but I managed a tie break perfect”, commented Djokovic, who considered that the tie break it had been the turning point of the match.
“I tried to be unpredictable and I’m happy to have succeeded,” he admitted after adding his 90th victory on the Parisian clay, where only Rafael Nadal has done better (112).
The 36-year-old Serbian now awaits the other favorite in Nadal’s absence, Carlos Alcaraz, for the big surprise of the tournament.
The world number one still has to face number 5, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, finalist in 2021, in the afternoon quarterfinals.
It will be Djokovic’s twelfth semifinal at Roland Garros, where only Nadal has done better (15 for 14 titles). He will also play his 45th Grand Slam semifinal, where only Roger Federer has done better (46).
Difficult start of the game
On Tuesday against Khachanov, the Serb was slow to get into the match. He didn’t have any break points in the first set, and he lost one of the seven he had to defend. He also committed 17 unforced errors and 12 winners.
In the second set, both players held serve without conceding a break point, but Djokovic was untouchable in the tie break. The Serb continued to commit a large number of unforced errors (14), but he made up for them with the same number of winners.
In the third set he considerably improved his game and regained his efficiency.
He served four aces, committed no double faults, won 91% of his points on his first ball and 100% on his second, broke twice without conceding a break point, had 19 winners and only one unforced error. And he concluded the set with a furious smash.
Victory in three hours and 38 minutes
The Serb took the lead early in the fourth set, when he broke to take a 2-1 lead. An exchange of power that became a game of cat and mouse on the net finally ended with a tweener from Khachanov and a volley into the net from Djokovic in the 3-1 draw for the Serb put the crowd on their feet.
After his victory, Djokovic lamented his lack of effectiveness on this particular point. But two points later he confirmed his break to lead 3-1, not without saving two break point.
He then had two points to make it 5-2, but the Russian scored four more to come back to 4-3. Djokovic then committed a double fault that gave him the break (4-4).
However, the Serb won the match in three hours and 38 minutes, after dropping his first set of the tournament. Khachanov, who reached the semifinals in the last two Grand Slam tournaments (US Open 2022 and Australian Open in January), will not be able to reach three.
*With AFP; adapted from its original in French
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