Paris (EFE) , in which the winner of the duel between the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz and the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas will be measured.
In a match that lasted more than 3 and a half hours, the world number 3 was beaten for a set and a half by the aggressive and accurate play of the Russian, eleventh favorite, who snatched the first set from the Serb so far in the tournament and broke a streak of 29 consecutive Grand Slam wins.
The previous duels between Djokovic and Khachanov
In the nine previous duels against the Serb, Khachanov had only won three sets, two of them in the final of the 2018 Masters 1,000 in Paris, the only time he defeated him.
But on the way to his third crown in Paris, to add 23 Grand Slams and break the tie at the top that he has had with the Spanish Rafael Nadal since the last Australian Open, Djokovic knew how to change the course in a duel that turned his back on him. And he consolidated his status as the most prolific tennis player in the French capital behind the Spaniard, absent due to injury for the first time since 2005 on the French clay, from which he is now only separated by 22 victories.
Not a break ball was sought by the Serbian in the first two sleeves, in which he was at the mercy of the Russian, who was looking for his third consecutive semifinal in a Grand Slam.
Thus, he subdued the Serbian in the first set and kept him at bay in the second, leading to a tiebreaker game that Djokovic clung to to put the game on his side.
As so many times throughout his career, at the key moment his tennis level rose many integers and he scored all the points of that set, a psychological blow to the Russian’s waterline, which he felt deeply.
The Serbian takes control of the game
The sense of the party turned. Djokovic was Djokovic again, as the Russian lost the wrist that had made him dominate and faded at the expense of the Serb.
After two and a quarter hours of play, the Serbian’s first breaking ball arrived, which, true to his killer instinct, began to hit hard, who only made one unforced error in that set, by 21 in the previous two, and hit with 19 winners Khachanov’s precarious defense.
Despite the fact that the Russian tried to rejoin the duel, his train had left. Djokovic no longer relaxed the pressure, he continued to display an excellent game that barely gave oxygen to his opponent, who gave up his serve in the third game. The Serbian had two balls to get up 5-2 and serve to win, but there his arm shrank and Khachanov held on and tied at 4.
It was a mirage, because the Serb scored the next two games on the way to victory.