Novak Djokovic glad to overcome big-serving Khachanov in French Open quarter-finalI struggled to find rhythm

By India Today Sports DeskWorld No. 3 Novak Djokovic hook off a first set debacle to bag a four set win against Russia’s Karen Khachanov on Tuesday, 7 June. Djokovic’s 4-6 7-6(0) 6-2 6-4 win helped him reach his 12th French Open semi-finals, staying on course for a record-breaking 23rd men’s singles Grand Slam title.

The two-time Roland Garros champion looked in a heap of trouble for the majority of the first two sets failing to break Khachanov even once. After losing the first set and taking the second one into a tiebreaker, Djokovic came into his own and dished out a perfect match. Djokovic won 7-0 in the second set tiebreak and from there picked up the pace race into the semi-final fixture of the tournament.

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Speaking after his win, the Serbian said in the court-side interview that he was struggling for the better part of first two sets.

“He was the better player for most of the first two sets, I was struggling to find my rhythm, I came into this a bit sluggish,” Djokovic said.

“Then I played a perfect tiebreak and from that moment onwards I played a couple of levels higher, managed to win eight points in a row to finish it off,” Novak further added.

Djokovic dropped his first set of the tournament on Tuesday, making a lot of unforced errors in the first two sets. After getting outplayed in the first one, Djokovic looked more in control, but his unforced errors stopped him from breaking Khachanov.

“I missed a couple of easy shots today. These things happen sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. He has a big serve but maybe doesn’t move as well so I tried to expose him and played unpredictable. It was a big fight but that’s what you expect from a Grand Slam quarter-final,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic got the early break thanks to a netcord in the third and stole Khachanov’s serve again to move one set from victory with apparent ease.

The Serbian broke again early in the fourth set, only to serve a double fault that allowed Khachanov to level for 4-4 and keep his slim hopes of an upset alive.

Coming back in the set cost Khachanov too much though and the Russian was broken to love in the following game, losing eight points in a row as Djokovic ended the contest with an ace.