Tennis
Khachanov did the almost impossible! But then Djokovic simply moved him
Photo: © REUTERS / Lisi Niesner
Karen gave the fans hope, but the cold-blooded Serb easily returned everyone from heaven to earth.
Despite the defeat of Daniil Medvedev in the first round of Roland Garros, the fans were not left without cool matches with the Russians in the men’s part of the tournament.
The meeting between Karen Khachanov and Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals is a big event. Although for our player we would like a simpler opponent – the Russian has not been glued to the formidable Serb for a long time.
At the beginning of the match, Karen did the impossible, but he believed in success too early …
Consistency in major tournaments
Khachanov, although he is a top player in the ATP world rankings, is still in the shadow of his even more successful compatriots: Andrei Rublev and Daniil Medvedev. At the same time, the statistics of the 27-year-old Muscovite at the last Grand Slams look more powerful – in the previous two tournaments of the series, he reached the semi-finals.
In Paris, Karen was again not a favorite, especially since Roland Garros 2023 brought together all the top tennis players, with the exception of the injured King of Clay Rafael Nadal. Already in the first round, Khachanov could finish his performance, losing the first two sets to the Frenchman Lestienne. However, Karen managed to turn the match around and win in five games.
Further, the Russian’s game improved, over the next three meetings he gave only two sets. Although these figures do not go to any comparison with Djokovic’s statistics: the great Serb had not lost a set before the match with Karen.
On his side and the statistics of personal meetings – 8-1. Both matches on clay ended with the victory of the 36-year-old veteran, and Karen’s only triumph happened five years ago. That victory was just in Paris, but not at Roland Garros, but in the Masters final.
Unexpected start
Khachanov admitted before the match that he likes to play long fights. Obviously, almost the main task for Karen was to drag the Serb into a long shootout. In the starting set, the Russian immediately showed that he did not intend to make mistakes, and confidently took his serve.
Djokovic’s opponent’s reliability, of course, angered him. In the fifth game, the Russian had an incredible chance – two break points after a double mistake by the Serbian. Novak managed to level the score in the game, Karen tried to put pressure on him through aggression and was as close as possible to this, but he smeared the smash in an unimaginable way. However, on the fifth break point, 11 minutes after the start of the game, our tennis player still took the lead before his serve: 3:2.
The Serbian could not regain the lost game. Moreover, Karen did not let Novak even think about break points. At the same time, Khachanov could have completed the first set on the opponent’s serve, but this time he failed to convert two set points. However, the Russian did not get upset and took the first game on his serve – 6:4. So Djokovic lost a set for the first time in a tournament.
Flawless Nole
The Serb needed to change something, and the first thing he did was put on a white baseball cap. The mini-crisis happened again in the fifth game: with the score 40:0 on his serve, Novak lost three rallies in a row. But, unlike the first game, it did not come to a break point.
For the first time in the match, Djokovic was close to a break at the most necessary moment of the set – with the score 6:5 in his favor. “Swing” 12th game Karen managed to keep behind, but the excitement grew: the Serb, in a traditional manner for himself after an ambiguous first set, caught the rhythm and gradually found the keys to the aggressive and powerful game of the Russian.
At the tie-break, Khachanov seemed to have been replaced: confidence, reliability and strength were gone. Novak, on the other hand, succeeded in everything that did not pass before. Nole took seven draws in a row and easily took the game.
Pure formality
Won set predictably inspired Djokovic. Karen experienced more and more difficulties in long draws, and Novak mercilessly drove our player around the court and ended the draws in his favor.
In the opening game of the third set, a significant event happened – Djokovic’s first break. Considering that by this point the match had lasted more than two hours, this fact sounds like a compliment to Karen. However, in the context of the fate of the quarterfinals, this was little consolation. Novak made another break and took the set very quickly – 6:2. It is significant that for the entire third game Karen won only one rally on Djokovic’s serve.
The break that the Russian took before the start of the fourth set is a mandatory exercise in such a catastrophic situation. But the mood that Karen tried to regain during this pause worked exactly two games.
Djokovic made a break, took the lead 2:1, and when everyone believed in the Serb’s victory, the coolest draw of the match happened. Karen pulled out dead balls in a shootout at the net, which eventually forced Novak to make a mistake. Even the stands applauded our tennis player. The score in the game became equal, but the cold-blooded Serb again achieved his goal – 3:1.
Khachanov tried to wind himself up, showed a cool game in episodes, but Novak was still more reliable at a distance – 6:4. Karen again lost to the Serbian and for the first time in the last three Grand Slams did not reach the semi-finals. But, despite the defeat today, for our tennis player this is a cool achievement.
Source: Sportbox
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