April 23, (THEWILL) –Â Â For another match, Novak Djokovic needed to rally from going down in the first set to defeat Karen Khachanov 4-6 6-1 6-2 and advance to his third Serbia Open final.
Djokovic, the tournament’s two-time winner, was not at his best and was trounced in the first set.
Khachanov took advantage of the reigning French Open champion’s unexpected string of errors and looked better from the baseline on his route to a one-set lead.
Djokovic took a while to find his rhythm, as he had in his previous two Belgrade meetings, but once he did, he found it and bounced back in a big way to win the match.
In the second set, his fierce returning saw him break twice, leaving Khachanov stunned as his opponent stepped up a notch. Then, in the third set, Djokovic looked like himself again, winning in under two hours against his 25-year-old compatriot.
In 2022, the world number one is still finding his feet, but he will be pleased to have reached his first final of the year.
He was barred from competing in the Australian Open and has since been knocked out of the Monte Carlo Masters second round and the Dubai Tennis Championships quarter-finals.
In the final, Djokovic will face either Andrey Rublev or Fabio Fognini.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
