Djokovic admits early difficulty in Khachanov clash: "I was struggling to find my rhythm, I came into the match slow and sluggish"

Novak Djokovic acknowledged the difficulties he faced in the first set against Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals of the 2023 French Open.

'Nole' had to come back from a set down to defeat Karen Khachanov and reach his 12th semifinals at Roland Garros. The Serbian player, who has lifted the trophy twice before, will now aim to secure a spot in another French Open final against Carlos Alcaraz.

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It wasn't an easy match for the 22-time Grand Slam champion, as he started off poorly in the first set, failing to threaten Khachanov's serve. The Russian player managed to take advantage and claim the first set with a break, leaving Djokovic visibly uncomfortable.

However, the world No. 2 grew stronger as the match progressed, winning the second-set tiebreak convincingly and dominating Khachanov thereafter.

After the match, Djokovic spoke about the challenging encounter he had against the Russian player:

“It was due to his quality of tennis; he was better for most of the first two sets.

"I was struggling to find my rhythm, making a lot of unforced errors. I came into the match quite slow and sluggish, but played a perfect tiebreak, and I played a couple of levels higher than the beginning and had a bit of a scare towards the end of the fourth, but managed to close it out,” former world No. 1 said.

"It’s a big fight; something you expect in the quarters of a Slam, you won’t be handed your victories, and I’m glad to overcome a big challenge.

"I missed a couple of easy shots. These things happen, sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t,” ‘Nole’ said.

"Against players like Karen that’re aggressive with a big serve, sometimes they don’t move as well. I tried to expose him, playing unpredictable, a lot of drop shots, changing the length, and so forth. I’m running down all my tactics now!

"It was a big fight; it always is. I have a lot of respect for Karen," Djokovic concluded.

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