Top seed and home favourite Novak Djokovic is set to face Karen Khachanov in the Serbia Open 2022 Semi-final
Novak Djokovic is set to face a tough challenge on his home turf from the third seed Karen Khachanov in the semi-finals of the Serbia Open. Djokovic won his previous two matches in the tournament but hasn’t looked in his best touch with both encounters going down to three sets. In the first round, Djokovic defeated Laslo Dere 2-6, 7-6, 7-6 followed by another win over compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Russia’s Karen Khachanov meanwhile didn’t have to exert himself so much in his previous two games. He received a walkover in the Round of 16 before sealing a convincing straight-sets win against Thiago Monteiro in the next round to set up a clash against Djokovic.
Djokovic and Khachanov are seasoned campaigners and have faced each other six times before on the ATP. The Serbian has an overwhelming head-to-head record of 5-1 and also won their latest meeting earlier this year at the Dubai Tennis Championships. However, we expect the match to be much closer than what the head-to-head record might suggest. We are predicting a win in three sets for Novak Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic is struggling to find his touch and has had a very underwhelming 2022 so far. The Serbian has missed multiple top-rated tournaments this year due to his vaccination status. It saw him lose his No.1 spot to Daniil Medvedev for a brief period. However, he is back as the World No.1 but has failed to do justice to his ranking in the tournaments he played. Earlier this year, Djokovic participated in the Dubai Tennis Championships as the top seed but lost in the quarter-finals to unseeded Jan Vesely.
The Serbian was then out of action from the ATP tour for two months after he was not allowed to participate in the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open for not being vaccinated against Covid-19. Playing after a gap of two months, Djokovic failed to find his rhythm in the Monte Carlo Masters and suffered a shock exit after a loss in his very first match against the unseeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
This loss was a big blow to Djokovic’s confidence ahead of the Roland Garros. Djokovic would look to find his rhythm and gain some positive momentum from the Serbia Open. Djokovic is the defending Roland Garros champion. He would want to make a statement in the second Grand Slam of the year.
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