Djokovic excellent in key tiebreaker at French Open, faces No. 1 Alcaraz subsequent

PARIS — Novak Djokovic, in his phrases, felt “quite sluggish, quite slow” for almost two full units in opposition to Karen Khachanov within the the French Open quarterfinals Tuesday.

Afterward, Djokovic known as it his worst stretch of the match, a good evaluation. He dropped the opening set, one thing he hadn’t executed at Roland Garros this 12 months. As the second went to a tiebreaker in Court Philippe Chatrier, he knew it was important to step up his sport, carry forth his finest.

It’s one factor to hunt perfection; it’s one other completely to ship. As if merely wanting so made it so, Djokovic did what he’s executed earlier than at essential moments through the years en path to 22 Grand Slam titles.

Managing to decide on the proper shot each time, managing to place every ball exactly the place he supposed, Djokovic threw a shutout of a tiebreaker to level himself towards what would turn into a 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 victory over the Eleventh-seeded Khachanov.

Djokovic, who will meet No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in a much-anticipated semifinal Friday, discovered one phrase to explain that phase of the match: “Amazing.”

Alcaraz beat Djokovic on clay on the Madrid Masters final 12 months of their solely earlier encounter, and the 20-year-old from Spain bought previous No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (5) on Tuesday evening.

“Since the draw came out, everyone was expecting that match — the semifinal against Novak. Myself, as well. I really want to play that match,” Alcaraz stated. “Since last year, I really wanted to play again against Novak.”

No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded Karolina Muchova each reached the ladies’s semifinals by profitable earlier within the day. Sabalenka, the reigning champion on the Australian Open, eradicated Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-4, then appeared at a information convention for the primary time in almost per week. Muchova defeated 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-2.

How does Djokovic method a tiebreaker?

“It’s kind of a mentality of (locking down): ‘OK, I’m present, I’m 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,” stated Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia who has spent extra weeks ranked No. 1 than anybody in his sport’s historical past and is at present No. 3. “It worked really well for me.”

Well, there’s an understatement.

“Every point was perfectly scripted for me, so to say. Yeah, sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t,” he stated. “I 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.”

Indeed, he’s 307-162, a profitable share of .655, in these set-deciders now performed at 6-all at each main. In 2023, it’s 14-4, together with 5-0 in Paris. And get this: Those tiebreakers on the 2023 French Open have been comprised of 47 complete factors — and he has made a grand complete of zero unforced errors.

On an 80-degree afternoon, Djokovic introduced that model of make-no-mistakes tennis to the following set, too, in opposition to Khachanov, a semifinalist on the U.S. Open final September and the Australian Open this January.

“The energy of the court shifted to my side. I felt the momentum. I started releasing and relaxing through my shots a bit more,” Djokovic stated, pantomiming a backhand swing, “and going for it more, with more confidence. And he backed up a bit.”

On the tenth level of the third set’s opening sport, Djokovic flubbed a backhand. But he then wouldn’t commit an unforced error the remainder of the best way in that set, compiling 19 winners in that span.

Whenever a solution was required, Djokovic discovered one.

“It always feels like he finds a way … to make you (in) trouble,” Khachanov stated. “He’s always there. He’s always pushing, and you know this.”

After Khachanov wildly celebrated his finest shot of the match — a back-to-the-net ‘tweener that drew a netted volley from Djokovic, who bowed his head — by wind-milling his arms and shouting and yelling, the right response got here subsequent. Djokovic hit a 128 mph (206 kph) serve adopted by a forehand winner, and a 130 mph (209 kph) serve adopted by a drop shot winner to take that sport, then pointed his left index finger towards the azure sky.

When Djokovic performed a shaky sport that ended with a double-fault to all of a sudden make it 4-all within the fourth — “A little bit of a scare,” he stated — he turned again into that vibrant model of himself.

Djokovic collected the remaining eight factors — breaking at love, then holding at love — and was on his option to a twelfth semifinal on the French Open (amongst males, solely Rafael Nadal, with 15, has extra; the 14-time champion is at present sidelined by a hip damage) and forty fifth in any respect Grand Slam occasions (solely the retired Roger Federer, with 46, has extra).

“It’s exactly,” Djokovic stated, “where I want to be.”

Alcaraz progressed to his second main semifinal — the opposite got here when he gained the 2022 U.S. Open — by outclassing two-time Slam runner-up Tsitsipas in each doable method till stumbling barely close to the end line.

It was so lopsided for a lot of the night that followers roared, and Tsitsipas raised his arms to acknowledge their response, when Alcaraz’s third-set edge was trimmed from 3-0 to 3-1. Soon after, at 5-2, Alcaraz held two match factors that he frittered away; he bought damaged for the primary time to make it 5-3; and one other match level got here and went at 5-4.

Not till his sixth match level of the competition did Alcaraz lastly convert, with a backhand volley winner.

Like Djokovic hours earlier, Alcaraz was superior when he wanted to be.