Novak Djokovic overcomes Khachanov test at Roland Garros for the semi-final

Novak Djokovic faced some adversity against Karen Khachanov at Roland Garros though the Serbian managed to get it done in four sets 4-6 7-6(0) 6-2 6-4.

Djokovic has faced Khachanov in the past but for the most part, he was quite dominant. The Russian was able to beat him once en route to a trophy at the Paris Masters but outsides of that match, things have been rather bleak. This one saw him play some really good tennis early in the match as he was able to break Djokovic and then take the opening set 6-4.

It was somewhat of a typically slow start by Djokovic who carefully observed how Khachanov played him. He wasn't very precise with his play as he slammed the ball wide 17 times. The second set was another competitive one with better play by Djokovic but the Russian didn't allow Djokovic much either. We ended up in a tiebreak which Khachanov totally bombed after a very bad mistake early. He gave Djokovic a 2-0 lead and from there it snowballed to a 7-0 finish.

That good momentum continued in the 3rd set as Khachnov kept struggling with his tennis. After 15 unforced errors in set two, the Russian added 8 more in the 3rd set. It was the best set Djokovic played all day posting a ridiculous 19 winners and only one unforced error. The final set of the match saw Djokovic mostly dominate early but would get broken late to make it 4-4.

It seemed like we were in for a close finish but it didn't happen as Djokovic ramped up his level once more to break for the 5-4 lead which he quickly converted to a 6-4 finish. An impressive 57 winners from Djokovic in this one and that's a worrying sign for all the other players.