Novak Djokovic will face Lorenzo Musetti in the Paris Masters quarter-final and it comes after he defeated Karen Khachanov in straight sets.
The match was a straight-forward one for Djokovic albeit not without issues. The Russian pushed Djokovic hard in the opening set fighting back from a 0-3 deficit to make things interesting. Djokovic held firm and speaking after the match, Novak broke down what happened:
“The first [set] was quite even, I had my chances, he had a break, and he was hanging on and I broke his serve in the 10th game of the first set and I think after that the momentum shifted. In the second set I was a different player. I think I stepped it up even more, served better, and I’m just really pleased with the way I finished.”
He also spoke about his familirity with Khachanov and how that impacted the match:
“Khachanov is someone I know really well. We train [together] a lot, and we played almost 10 times against each other on different surfaces… He beat me four years ago in the final, so I know he likes this surface, he likes these conditions."
Up next is Lorenzo Musetti, a player who lead him 2-0 at Roland Garros a couple of years ago and on him, Djokovic said:
"He’s definitely a much-improved player on [hard courts]. He has had some big wins this week, his first title a few weeks ago on [hard courts]. He’s so talented, he’s got everything in his game. He can play in the court, he can defend well, he’s got great movement, but I know his game well and I’m looking forward to a good challenge.”