Third seed Novak Djokovic moved into the semi-final at the French Open on Tuesday after grinding down a doughty Karen Khachanov in four sets.
It finished 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 to the 36-year-old Serb who is seeking a third French Open title and a record 23rd crown in the men's singles at the four Grand Slam tournament venues in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York.
Khachanov took Djokovic's service to lead 3-2 in the opening set and held his own to confirm the advantage. The 27-year-old Russian, playing in his second quarter-final in three years in Paris, closed out confidently to draw first blood after an hour of high quality play.
The intense exchanges continued throughout the second set which went to a tiebreak. Djokovic won the first point with a drop shot and his fifth backhand winner brought up six set points. He claimed the crucial seventh point with a volley at the net to level the match after two hours.
Clean
The whitewash clearly destabilised the 11th seed who dropped serve at the start of the third set. Djokovic piled on the pressure and swept through it 6-2 to take control.
Another early break at the beginning of the fourth seemed to have taken the match away from Khachanov.
But a fifth double fault from Djokovic coughed up a break to level proceedings at 4-4.
But Khachanov could not profit from the blunder.
Djokovic went on an eight point roll to take Khachanov's service, win his own and wrap up proceedings after three hours and 39 minutes.
"I came into the match feeling slow and sluggish," Djokovic told on-court interviewer Mats Wilander.
"But I played the perfect tiebreaker and I played at a better level in the third and fourth sets even if there was a little dip towards the end."
Djokovic, who will next take on either the top seed Carlos Alcaraz or the fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, added "It's the quarter-finals in a Grand Slam and you don't have your victories handed to you. I'm glad to have overcome this challenge."
Jeers
In the women's quarter-finals in the lower half of the draw, second seed Aryna Sabalenka from Belarrus beat the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-4 to reach her first semi-final in Paris.
Svitolina, who has been an outspoken critic of tennis tour authorities for not banning Russian and Belarusian players since Russian forces entered her homeland via Belarus in February 2022, was booed by the centre court crowd for refusing to shake Sabalenka's hand at the end of their match.
The 25-year-old Belarusian will face the unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova for a place in Saturday's final.
The world number 43 eliminated the 2021 finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-2 to advance to her first semi-final at the tournament.
