Djokovic reaches semi-finals of French Open by defeating Karen Khachanov

Paris. Against veteran tennis, Novak Djokovic confirmed his place in the last four by defeating Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals of the French Open here on Tuesday. In the men’s singles match, the Serbian made a stunning comeback after losing the first set against the 11th seeded Russian to win 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4. Khachanov surprised the former number one in the first set but Djokovic then came back with experience to win the second set comfortably. The player dominated the next two sets. In the women’s section, second seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Karolina Muchova won their respective matches to book their first semi-final berths where the two players will face each other on Thursday.

Sabalenka beat Yelina Svitolina 6-4, 6-4, while unseeded Muchova defeated 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-2 to seal a place in the last four. Both players have reached the semi-finals of this Grand Slam for the first time. Earlier, their best performance at Roland Garros was to reach the third round. Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, playing in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since the birth of a child in October, refused to shake hands with her Belarus opponent after losing the match. A section of the audience protested vociferously against his act. Belarus has openly supported Russia on the Ukraine attack.

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Sabalenka is yet to drop a set in the tournament. In the previous match, fatigue dominated Pavlyuchenkova’s game against Muchova. Their previous bout had lasted more than three hours. He easily succumbed in the second set of the match. After breaking Muchova in the first set, Pavlyuchenkova tried to come back in the second set. He hit some powerful field shots but found it difficult to come back from 1-4 down. Muchova reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open two years ago.