By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, November 3, 2022
Defending champion Novak Djokovic demolished Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-1 powering into the Paris Masters quarterfinals with his 11th straight win.
Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty
Place Novak Djokovic beneath a closed ceiling and watch him blow the lid off opponents.
Defending champion Djokovic demolished Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-1 powering into the Rolex Paris Masters quarterfinals with his 11th straight tournament win and 11th consecutive indoor triumph.
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Short-term memory loss is a prerequisite for tennis success.
Sometimes, a long memory helps too.
This match was a rematch of the 2018 Paris Indoors final when Khachanov deconstructed Djokovic, 7-5, 6-4, to capture his first Masters 1000 championship and snap Djokovic's 22-match winning streak.
Since Khachanov became the only man to ever defeat Djokovic in a Paris Indoors final, the 35-year-old Serbian has won 18 titles, while the 26-year-old Russian has yet to win another championship and has dropped 21 straight matches to Top 10 opponents.
If you think that 2018 defeat didn't linger in Djokovic's head then watch a replay of today's rematch. Djokovic won 24 of 28 first-serve points, commanded the center of the court and jerked the Russian around into the corners.
"It's always a challenge playing Khachanov. I lost to him, the only time we played here, I lost to him 2018 in the finals, so I know he likes these kind of conditions," Djokovic said. "A bit quicker this year, so the ball stays low and just goes through the court faster than it was the case last year.
"So if you serve well and if you're aggressive from baseline, you can win quite a few points. I haven't served that well in the first set, to be honest, but I managed to keep the good tempo from baseline. Second set was different from the first set. I just, I think, had a level up of my game and really pleased with the way I finished."
The reigning Wimbledon champion grew more confident as the match progressed winning four of his last five service games at love to wrap up a one hour, 26-minute triumph.
Continuing his quest for a seventh Rolex Paris Masters crown, Djokovic will play talented Italian Lorenzo Musetti for a semifinal spot.
In today's Court Central opener, the 20-year-old Musetti rallied past third-seeded Casper Ruud 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal.
Musetti scored his first career Top 5 win after dropping his prior six matches vs. Top 5 opponents to reach his first Masters quarterfinal.
"I mean, was a really nice match," Musetti said. "I started a bit with a rush, but Casper was playing good. He played good all the match, so it was definitely one of my biggest win in my career. I'm really proud of myself today."
The seventh-ranked Serbian is 2-0 vs. Musetti though the Italian with the whiplash one-handed backhand famously pushed Djokovic to five sets at the 2021 Roland Garros.
That match is also embedded in Djokovic's head as he maps out a game-plan for Friday's quarterfinal rematch.
"He's got a bright future ahead of him. Things are coming together," Djokovic said of Musetti. "It takes a few years for a young player to be on the tour to understand, you know, how the tour functions and understand what it takes to find that balance where you are able to consistently play well.
"Nowadays, you can't be a top player if you're playing only well on one surface. You have to be an all-around player, all-surface player. He's showing, you know, the signs of an improvement on all surfaces. He's got a complete game. One of the nicest one-handed backhands on the tour...
"I look forward to it. I'm going to prepare myself, and hopefully win."
Musetti's upset of Ruud was the only day session match that spanned three sets.
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz dismissed former world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-3 in 71 minutes.
US Open champion Alcaraz will take on Holger Rune in a blockbuster battle of 19-year-old titanic talents with a semifinal spot on the line.
A red-hot Rune saved all six break points he faced edging seventh-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-5.
The first Danish man to reach the Roland Garros quarterfinals is 16-2 in his last 18 matches. In their lone prior meeting, Alcaraz beat Rune at the 2021 NextGen ATP Finals.
Alcaraz said he's been managing the pressures of world No. 1 with a sound perspective on his place.
"For me, it's just a number. It's just a ranking," Alcaraz said of world No. 1. "Obviously it doesn't mean that you're gonna win every match, every tournament. You know, every players can beat you.
"I see like that, you know, right now. I just feel I can lose every match, and that's the most important thing. You have to play your best match in every match or at least you have to try to play the best level in every match. That's what I see in that moment right now."