PARIS: The first of the men's singles quarterfinals was just over the three-hour mark when Novak Djokovic opened the court with his blade-like groundstrokes, ripping his 20th forehand winner of the match to take charge of the clash against Karen Khachanov. The Russian bounced back to level scores later in the set, but the Serb, sublime on the strike, had the upper hand.
Djokovic - looking for a record 23 major crown and a third Roland Garros triumph that would make him the first man in history to win each Grand Slam title thrice -came through 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 to make his 45th major semifinal and 12th at the French Open. "Karen was the better player for the better part of the first two sets, then I played a perfect tiebreak, a couple of levels higher," Djokovic said. "It was a big fight, expected in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, you are not going to have victories handed over to you."
