Novak Djokovic admitted that his play from the baseline wasn’t at his usual level but he felt he still played good enough tennis to beat Karen Khachanov. On Friday, fourth-seeded Djokovic ousted Karen Khachanov 6-4 6-3 at the Astana Open.
In his first two matches at the tournament, Djokovic looked absolutely dominant. After beating Cristian Garin with a 6-1 6-1 score in the Astana Open first round, Djokovic defeated Botic van de Zandschulo 6-3 6-1. In the Astana Open quarterfinal, Djokovic lost his serve once in the first set but broke Khachanov twice to still win the opener.
In the second set, Djokovic broke Khachanov once and held on to his serve to complete a two-set win. “I didn’t play as well from the baseline as I did in the first two matches, but still it was enough. I managed to produce some good tennis when it was the most needed in both sets,” Djokovic said, per the ATP website.
Djokovic on setting up a Daniil Medvedev match
Djokovic plays Medvedev, who defeated Roberto Bautista Agut. “I always expect highs from myself,” said Djokovic said. “Hopefully I can elevate still the level of my game for tomorrow because it’s going to be needed, obviously, whoever I play against.”
Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev will be clashing in the remaining Astana Open semifinal. On Friday, Tsitsipas defeated Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (8) 6-3 to reach the Astana Open semifinal. On the other side, Rublev crushed Adrian Mannarino 6-1 6-2.
Tsitsipas and Rublev are well-known to each other, having met nine times on the main level. Going into the match, Tsitsipas owns a 5-4 head-to-head versus Rublev. “He strikes the ball very hard,” Tsitsipas said of facing Rublev. “But I’m going to concentrate on my game. I’m going to be well prepared and visualise it before”.
