By Alberto Amalfi | Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Novak Djokovic pounded Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-1 to charge into the Dubai quarterfinals and extend his perfect season.
Photo credit: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
His Asics shoes aren't leaving marks on hard courts, but Novak Djokovic continues to blaze a winning trail through the 2020 season.
A ruthless Djokovic pounded Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-1 to charge into the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships quarterfinals and extend his perfect season.
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The world No. 1 improved to 15-0 on the season, and scored his 18th straight win, advancing to his 11th Dubai quarterfinal.
Continuing his quest for a fifth Dubai title, Djokovic dissected Kohlschreiber, who swept the Serbian in straight sets in Indian Wells last March, with precision.
"Look, I thought I was very sharp from the beginning mentally,” Djokovic said. “Took me a first few games to really kind of get used to the tricky conditions today. It was pretty windy on the court, even though maybe it doesn’t seem like that from outside.
"The wind was changing directions all the time. It was not really easy to get the rhythm. It was completely different from any other day."
The 2013 champion hit 23 winners—19 more than his opponent—in a tidy 59-minute victory.
"it was a great performance," Djokovic said. "I enjoyed the way I played. Obviously, came out with the right focus, with the right tactics and knowing Philipp beat me 12 months ago straight sets in Indian Wells, I needed to approach this match very seriously regardless of his ranking.
"He’s one of the most experienced players on the tour. He likes playing on the big stage so he doesn’t falter too much in big stadiums like this against the best players in the world. Credit to him for all he has done in his career."
The eight-time Australian Open champion will face a much different style of play when he meets Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals.
The seventh-seeded Russian defeated Dennis Novak 6-3, 6-4.
"I have had some interesting battles with him," said Djokovic, who has won two of three meetings vs. Khachanov. "He’s a great guy, very powerful player, big serve, big forehand and very, very solid backhand.
"He's one of the guys potential to be Top 10, Top 5 in the world. He’s very dedicated, very, very talented, plays with a lot of power. Hopefully, I’ll be able to be as sharp as I have been in the first two matches and start the match well because that’s gonna be the key."
Second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas stopped Alexander Bublik 7-6(1), 6-4.
It was the sixth straight win for Tsitsipas, who beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Marseille final on Sunday to collect his fifth career title.
The ATP Finals champion will take on Jan-Lennard Struff for a semifinal spot.
Struff backed up his upset of fifth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut winning seven straight games in a 6-1, 6-0 thrashing of Nikoloz Basilashvili.
No. 3-seeded Gael Monfils ended the inspired run of qualifier Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-1 6-2, saving five of six break points in a 66-minute rout.
Rotterdam champion Monfils rides a seven-match winning streak into an all-French showdown vs. good friend Richard Gasquet.
Earlier, Gasquet denied 10 of 14 break points in a 6-4, 6-4 win over eighth-seeded compatriot Benoit Paire.
Sixth seeded Andrey Rublev staved off set point registering a 7-6 (3) 6-0 victory over Filip Krajinovic.