Novak Djokovic, in his words, felt 바카라quite sluggish, quite slow바카라 for nearly two full sets against Karen Khachanov in the French Open quarterfinals Tuesday. (More Tennis News)
Afterward, Djokovic called it his worst stretch of the tournament, a fair assessment. He dropped the opening set, something he hadn바카라t done at Roland Garros this year. As the second went to a tiebreaker in Court Philippe Chatrier, he knew it was vital to step up his game, bring forth his best.
It바카라s one thing to seek perfection; it바카라s another entirely to deliver. As if merely wanting so made it so, Djokovic did what he바카라s done before at crucial moments over the years en route to 22 Grand Slam titles.
Managing to choose the right shot every time, managing to put each ball precisely where he intended, Djokovic threw a shutout of a tiebreaker to point himself toward what would become a 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 victory over the 11th-seeded Khachanov.
Djokovic, who will meet No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in a much-anticipated semifinal Friday, found one word to describe that segment of the match: 바카라Amazing.바카라
Alcaraz beat Djokovic on clay at the Madrid Masters last year in their only previous encounter, and the 20-year-old from Spain got past No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (5) on Tuesday night.
바카라Since the draw came out, everyone was expecting that match 바카라 the semifinal against Novak. Myself, as well. I really want to play that match,바카라 Alcaraz said. 바카라Since last year, I really wanted to play again against Novak.바카라
No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded Karolina Muchova both reached the women바카라s semifinals by winning earlier in the day. Sabalenka, the reigning champion at the Australian Open, eliminated Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-4, then appeared at a news conference for the first time in nearly a week. Muchova defeated 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-2.
How does Djokovic approach a tiebreaker?
바카라It바카라s kind of a mentality of (locking down): 바카라OK, I바카라m present, I바카라m focused only on the next point and I have to really think clearly about what I want to do against ... a given opponent. It worked really well for me,바카라 said Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia who has spent more weeks ranked No. 1 than anyone in his sport바카라s history and is currently No. 3. 바카라It worked really well for me.바카라
Well, there바카라s an understatement.
바카라Every point was perfectly scripted for me, so to say. Yeah, sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn바카라t,바카라 he said. 바카라I was lucky that, throughout my career, I have a very good and positive score in the tiebreaks. My opponents know that, and I know that. So, I think, mentally that serves me well.바카라
Indeed, he is 307-162, a winning percentage of .655, in those set-deciders now played at 6-all at every major. In 2023, it바카라s 14-4, including 5-0 in Paris. And get this: Those tiebreakers at the 2023 French Open have been comprised of 47 total points 바카라 and he has made a grand total of zero unforced errors.
On an 80-degree afternoon, Djokovic brought that brand of make-no-mistakes tennis to the next set, too, against Khachanov, a semifinalist at the U.S. Open last September and the Australian Open this January.
바카라The energy of the court shifted to my side. I felt the momentum. I started releasing and relaxing through my shots a bit more,바카라 Djokovic said, pantomiming a backhand swing, 바카라and going for it more, with more confidence. And he backed up a bit.바카라
On the 10th point of the third set바카라s opening game, Djokovic flubbed a backhand. But he then would not commit an unforced error the rest of the way in that set, compiling 19 winners in that span.
Whenever an answer was required, Djokovic found one.
바카라It always feels like he finds a way ... to make you (in) trouble,바카라 Khachanov said. 바카라He바카라s always there. He바카라s always pushing, and you know this.바카라
After Khachanov wildly celebrated his best shot of the match 바카라 a back-to-the-net 바카라tweener that drew a netted volley from Djokovic, who bowed his head 바카라 by wind-milling his arms and shouting and yelling, the perfect response came next. Djokovic hit a 128 mph (206 kph) serve followed by a forehand winner, and a 130 mph (209 kph) serve followed by a drop shot winner to take that game, then pointed his left index finger toward the azure sky.
When Djokovic played a shaky game that ended with a double-fault to suddenly make it 4-all in the fourth 바카라 바카라A little bit of a scare,바카라 he said 바카라 he turned back into that vibrant version of himself.
Djokovic collected the remaining eight points 바카라 breaking at love, then holding at love 바카라 and was on his way to a 12th semifinal at the French Open (among men, only Rafael Nadal, with 15, has more; the 14-time champion is currently sidelined by a hip injury) and 45th at all Grand Slam events (only the retired Roger Federer, with 46, has more).
바카라It바카라s exactly,바카라 Djokovic said, 바카라where I want to be.바카라
Alcaraz progressed to his second major semifinal 바카라 the other came when he won the 2022 U.S. Open 바카라 by outclassing two-time Slam runner-up Tsitsipas in every possible manner until stumbling slightly near the finish line.
It was so lopsided for much of the evening that fans roared, and Tsitsipas raised his arms to acknowledge their reaction, when Alcaraz바카라s third-set edge was trimmed from 3-0 to 3-1. Soon after, at 5-2, Alcaraz held two match points that he frittered away; he got broken for the first time to make it 5-3; and another match point came and went at 5-4.
Not until his sixth match point of the contest did Alcaraz finally convert, with a backhand volley winner.
Like Djokovic hours earlier, Alcaraz was superior when he needed to be.
