Djokovic loses first set at Roland Garros

A difficult start did not make Djokovic flinch in the quarter-finals at Philippe Chatrier. The two-time champion played better with each set, speeding up just in time to prevent the Russian opponent from reaching the Grand Slam semi-finals for the third time in a row.

Khachanov entered the game impressively, with the determination to interrupt the seven-match losing streak against Djokovic. The Russian player did well on most of the shots in the first set, while Nole made 17 self-defeating errors. Khachanov took advantage of one of the seven break-points, while Djokovic had no chance of winning a catch game and lost 4-6.

In the second set, Khachanov still played well, and Nole held the game more firmly. No one had a break-point in the whole set and the difference only came in the tie-break series. Djokovic won all seven points in the brainstorming series, to equalize the total score 1-1 through two sets.

Winning the ball game early in the third set helped Nole control the game, while Khachanov lost his excitement. Djokovic played almost perfectly in this set, scoring 19 winners and making only one self-defeating mistake. The Serbian player won another game of catching the ball, before closing the set with a score of 6-2.

The game continued to tilt in favor of the world number three player in the fourth set. It was not difficult for Djokovic to take a 4-2 lead. A bit of subjectivity caused Nole to be equalized by the opponent 4-4, but he won eight points straight, won two games to end the match after three hours and 38 minutes.

"He played better than me in the first two sets," said Djokovic. "I was slow and sluggish, making a lot of mistakes. But after the perfect tie-break, I played tennis at a higher level than at first." Djokovic also commented that Khachanov serves well and has heavy shots, but his mobility is not really good. Nole took advantage of that by constantly changing the tempo of his doubles, forcing the opponent to move a lot and that came into play as the game progressed towards the end.

Djokovic needs a similar or even better performance against Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals. The number one seed is considered as Nole's biggest challenge in the journey to monopolize the 23 Grand Slam record. In the last seven Grand Slams, Djokovic has reached the final six times and won five of them.