Djokovic wakes up, comes back against Khachanov and reaches the semifinals

Novak Djokovic is back in the Roland Garros semifinals. After a delicate start, with an intractable Karen Khachanov with the service, the Serb put all his machinery in motion and entered for the twelfth time in the penultimate round of the Parisian tournament, forty-fifth in a Grand Slam tournament. They prevailed 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2 and 6-4, in three hours and 38 minutes of what ended up being a real exhibition.

Every year, Djokovic tries to get to the Grand Slam tournament that he likes the least in the best way possible.. He has won it twice and has played four other finals because he is an extremely talented tennis player, but it is clear that the earth is not a surface that easily surrenders to his charms. Without Nadal in the draw, it could be thought that the chances of him winning for the third time at Roland Garros will increase and unbalance the tie that both have maintained at 22 greats since Nole won his tenth Australian Open last January. Nadal is not there, but Carlos Alcaraz is, also an adversary of capital proportions, who could be found this Friday in the semifinals.

Khachanov entered Philippe Chatrier under the weight of eight defeats in nine matches against Djokovic. He had only managed to beat him in the final of the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, indoors, in 2018. After lifting two sets in the first round against the French Constant Lestienne, the Russian had been having a good tournament, in line with the progress in recent years.. He is a player who moves better and no longer bleeds so much on the wrong side.

first set lost

Firm with the service, one of his spinal cord blows, he took the first set, making the only break profitable, in the fifth game. The conquest had merit in itself, since the Balkan had won 29 consecutive sets since he had lost the last one, in the second round of the Australian Open, against Couacaud. No one had coughed on him at this Roland Garros either, despite the fact that until the round of 16 match against the Peruvian Varillas, one of the surprises of the tournament, he did not make the leap in quality.

Djokovic was faced with the complicated task of breaking Khachanov's serve, without even managing to create a break point. In almost every edition of the tournament, he has faced some extreme situation, even when he has managed to lift the cup. It happened again two years ago, when he was down two sets to Musetti in the quarterfinals and Tsitsipas in the final.. As the match progressed, it became more than disturbing for the Belgrade tennis player.

However, this time Djokovic found his way first.. He did it in the tiebreaker of the second set, in which he certified the noticeable improvement that he had been experiencing in his game. Aware of the situation, he had put up a gear, displaying the best of himself, with those parallel setbacks that indicate the temperature of his tennis shoes.. Khachanov received a 7-0 score that left him touched and at the start of the third set he delivered his serve for the first time. The Russian persevered, but there was no way to stop his opponent, who took the set and quickly broke in the fourth. Saved two threats on his serve in a fourth game of 11 minutes, Nole still had to break again after giving up his serve and seeing the equalizer at four. He did it blankly, determined to put an end to the dispute without further expenditure of energy.

“He was better for a good part of the first two sets. I came into the match very slowly and made a lot of mistakes, but I made the perfect tiebreaker,” he commented courtside. “It was a great battle. Karen is a great player and I wish her all the best for the rest of the year.”