2020 in Review: Novak Djokovic tops Khachanov to keep Rafael Nadal behind

World no. 1 Novak Djokovic reached his ninth Dubai semi-final and the first in five years, beating Karen Khachanov 6-2, 6-2 in an hour and six minutes. The Serb was the dominant figure for the third time that week in Dubai, following wins over Malek Jaziri and Philipp Kohlschreiber. With those points, the Serb did enough to stay in front of Rafael Nadal in the ATP throne's race, delivering his 19th consecutive triumph since the Davis Cup Finals in November. It was the fourth meeting between two good friends who had trained together in Dubai before the event, with Djokovic clinching the third victory and setting the semi-final clash against Gael Monfils on Friday. The Serb did everything right, dictating the pace and marvelously mixing his strokes - especially the drop shots - to keep Khachanov away from the comfort zone and have the upper hand in the rallies. Djokovic lost 13 points in eight service games, getting broken once in the opener when he was already miles ahead and taking almost 60% of the return points.

He stole Karen's serve five times from nine opportunities and wrapped up another comfortable victory in his first tournament after the Australian Open. Djokovic held with a drop shot winner in the third game and broke Khachanov at love with a perfect forehand return down the line winner that carried him 3-1 in front.

Novak Djokovic defeated Karen Khachanov to reach Dubai semi-final.

The Serb held at love with a volley winner to confirm the lead, taking 12 of the last 13 points and racing towards the opener's finish line. Karen netted a backhand in the sixth game to suffer another break, allowing Novak to serve for the set. The Russian saved a set point in that seventh game and pulled one break back after the Serb's forehand mistake.

Leaving that game behind him, Djokovic grabbed another break a few minutes later when Khachanov netted a backhand, claiming the opener 6-2 in 32 minutes thanks to nine winners and seven unforced errors. Karen saved a break chance in the second set's second game to stay in touch before Novak grabbed a break at love in the fourth game - just like in the opener - with a perfect lob to forge the lead. The four-time champion sealed the fifth game in no time with a service winner and held at 30 at 4-2 following a forced mistake from Karen. Returning at 5-2, Djokovic scored another break that carried him over the top, advancing into the ninth Dubai semi-final and the first since 2015.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3rrWqke