Fourth seed Novak Djokovic beat Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-4 6-3 in the quarterfinals at the Astana Open on Friday after almost one and half hours on court. The 21-time Grand Slam winner, who won the Tel Aviv Open last Sunday, will now take on second seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the semifinal on Saturday. But what were the keys to his win over Khachanov?
#1. Khachanov could not breach Djokovic’s defense:
Khachanov looked to dominate rallies with his powerful forehand from the beginning, attempting to pull Djokovic out of position with sharply angled shots. However, Djokovic’s movement was exemplary and he managed to track down the majority of Khachanov’s shots. Both players held serve for the first eight games of the match, but Djokovic got the crucial break in the ninth game. The Serb then served out the set, hitting an ace on the set point.
#2. Djokovic uses drop shots well in the second set:
Djokovic tried to shorten the rallies in the second set. He used drop shots more often to drag the Russian into the net. Some of the drop shots he played off his backhand were delightful to watch, unless you were Khachanov that is. The Serbian broke early in the second and he managed to keep his nose in front in the second set. Khachanov did break back, but Djokovic succeeded in getting a second break to stay ahead. It was ultimately decisive.
#3. Khachanov’s return of serve was pretty ordinary:
Khachanov struggled to return properly for the majority of the match. He could get only a couple of break point opportunities, converting only one. Djokovic, on the other hand, converted three of the five break point opportunities he had. The 35-year-old Serb won 85% of the points on his first serve against Khachanov’s 61%. Djokovic also won 58% of the points on his second delivery against the Russian’s 48%.
