Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they collide in the Rolex Paris Masters final on Sunday afternoon. Their only previous meeting came this summer in the Wimbledon fourth round, with Djokovic dominating 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
Khachanov is not alone in his inability to touch the Serb during the second half of 2018. In fact, Djokovic is an incredible 31-1 in his last 32 matches dating back to the start of Wimbledon. In addition to titles at the All-England Club and the U.S. Open, the soon-to-be world No. 1 also triumphed at Masters 1000 tournaments in Cincinnati and Shanghai. He is now one win away from another Masters 1000 success following Paris victories over Joao Sousa, Damir Dzumhur, Marin Cilic, and Roger Federer.
Djokovic needed three sets against both Cilic and Federer, including a 7-6(6), 5-7, 7-6(3) survival against the Swiss in Saturday’s second semifinal.
“Next to the match I played against (Rafael) Nadal in the semis of Wimbledon, this was definitely the most exciting match I was playing this year and probably the best quality tennis match that I was part of,” the No. 2 seed said. “It was also expected, because when I get to play Roger, I know I have to get the best out of myself in order to win. And that’s why our rivalries and matches are so special.”
Djokovic won’t need any extra motivation for this one even though his opponent is at the other end of the career spectrum from Federer. Just 22 years old, Khachanov is making his first Masters 1000 final appearance thanks to defeats of Filip Krajinovic, Matthew Ebden, John Isner, Alexander Zverev, and Dominic Thiem. The Russian is sporting a 45-22 record this season and he will soar to 11th in the rankings even if he succumbs to Djokovic.
“I think especially the second part of the year I’m playing really my best tennis,” Khachanov assessed. “I’m having [my] best season, so far. I’m confident and I’m in the final, so I’m really happy about it.”
The underdog should be able to be somewhat competitive because Djokovic has been slightly under the weather this week and is coming off back-to-back three-setters. Still, the 14-time major champion is clearly the best player on the planet right now and experience will undoubtedly be another factor.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
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Novac Djokovic is again unbeatable . Karen Khachanov has to play a game of attrition. His first serve should be bang on target if he wants to nurture any dream of upsetting Novac. History shows that Novac can only be beaten if you outplay him in his own game , return game.
Nah, Stan has/had shown us you can overpower Djoko and that’s one way of beating him. Playing an attritional game against Djoko is asking for trouble, for who can outplay him playing attritional tennis? Maybe a younger version of Rafa but that’s only on clay!
To me one has to play with varieties, not giving Djoko any rhythm, giving him different looks, being unpredictable and be aggressive and takes away his time to defend or react.
We have seen Fed doing it with success (in the past) by playing his attacking with varieties game; Rafa too being the more aggressive of the two when playing and beating Djoko (and he almost could do it again at Wimbledon this year had he served better); Kyrgios who played an unpredictable game and Tsitsipas who’s not afraid to move forward to the net to attack as and when appropriate.
I would think a S&V game has better chances than a baseline game vs Djoko; you have to take it to Djoko and not let him dictate.
Djokovic in 3.
That Fed-Joker match was just amazing…but Knov can play….he’ll give Joker a 3 set battle!
Quite impressed with Khachanov so far though he did serve bad to lose serve but forgiven when he’s able to break back.
Has Khachanov added a new coach to his team or what? How come he has improved so much his movement to the net and his volleying? He now really has a good feel of the court, or court sense, and to me that’s something valuable, because that means he has figured out how to anticipate his opponents moves and then knowing what shots to make to counter them. Very impressive!
KK is quite young still and is improving. I think the slower courts suit his big game well. He doesn’t seem to be a nervous type either – maybe not nervous enough! He’s one to watch for sure though.
agreed
Wow, Khachanov wins the first set! Impressive nerveless play by him. No wonder Rafa lost a set to him at the USO, he has really improved so much. I guess winning at Moscow does help with his confidence too.
great job KK
Wow! Congrats Katchanov! Didn’t see the match.
I assume Djoko was tired combined with a solid game by the Russian.
Khach was awesome and Djokovic was beyond horrendous
Nole somewhat flat after the big win vs Fed but kudos to Khacho for not folding as he’s done in the past.
He’s got the game but mental strength has been his downfall until today.
We will have to wait to see if it’s real. Not unlike Zverev in that regard who’s still a year younger.
But this Nole wouldn’t have beaten Federer.
not really
Khach has won some extremely tight matches throughout his career. The ones he’s lost were against far higher-ranked players. That’s a talent problem; not a mental problem.
No. Exactly the opposite.
He’s had good leads vs top 10 players before only to fold by feeling the pressure to close unable to sustain his level. I’ve seen him mentally collapse resulting in barrages of unforced errors after great starts agains the top players.
That’s losing to the ranking, not the player.
no
Not sure what the disagreement is about here, its partly mental in keeping the unforced errors down, but also playing tactically astute . Takes confidence to do that, talent alone isn’t enough.
What a match, and what a performance by Khachanov! Very very well done!! Nerve of steel, winning his first Masters at his first Masters final, great job!
Can’t believe he’s the one to end Djoko’s 22 match winning streak! Khachanov really really has improved by leaps and bounds! He has shown that an aggressive all court game and unrelenting attack plus retrieving can beat Djoko.
I must say Djoko’s serve is subpar today, probably he’s a bit under the weather, sick maybe and not helped when softened by Fed in their three hours SF match but credit where credit is due, Khachanov plays very well, best I’ve seen of him so far and great serving too.
Grats to KK! I expect ND was a bit flat today, what with his cold and a couple of big matches in quarters and semis. He got to #1 which was his big goal for the week. Plus give KK credit for playing some great tennis this week! Well, this fall, really!
Tennis is a physical game. You can win tournaments if you have not exhausted yourself before to your limit. Today was one such instance.
Rafa won last year USO because he did not spend too much energy after 3rd round. 4th round and quarters were quick matches for him. He destroyed DelPo after losing a tight first set. After that he smoked DelPo and Anderson.
But this year was different for him. He had tough matches in the initial rounds and he was just physically gone after Theim’s match. I still believe he would have won against DelPo this year had he not won against
No matter if you are Djoker, Nadal or Fed, with all of these GOATS at their fag end of their careers, you need to be fresh no matter who they play . Today was one such instance where we saw the difference.
Having said that Djoker is always gracious in defeat. He is a lovely lad.
Great words for Nole from KK in his acceptance and nice speach overall. Good personality which speaks volumes.
Lots of potential and much less arrogant than Zverev.
As I said, we will see!
Isn’tner and KK first alternates for WTF with Delpo out and Nishi having secured the last spot. Would love to see KK get in but Isn’tner would be horrible.
Rafa should skip it because his health is sketchy and he doesn’t have enough match play which he needs to play at the level required against the best. Save it for Australia.
Rafa will play WTF if he’s healthy. He *likes* to play, even if he loses every match.
Hawks i agree he shouldn’t play …too much risk and needs to make sure he has a good off season which he didn’t get last year.
Its still a long off season even if plays the WTF.
I thought Rafa had already decided to close down his 2018 season some weeks back so it was a surprise when it was then announced he was withdrawing from the Bercy tournament. A wise decision. Now I read there is is talk of him going to the O2. Why for goodness sake?
why not if he isn’t hurt?
Coz he will risk his body & getting injured again bcoz of the lack of match play Ricky!Duh!
i said “if he’s healthy”
why is a lack of match play a reason not to play?
Depends on how healthy.
There are degrees of health that must be weighed against stakes.
What’s the point of Rafa playing WTF at the end of the season against the best players of the world especially indoors where he typically struggles if he’s not match tough?
You do follow tennis, don’t you?
Or do you.
there’s only one option: if he’s 100 percent, he plays. if he isn’t (even 99), he doesn’t. There are no degrees that must be weighed.
no
I think practice and actual match play are too different things. Thats the reason why players play warmup tourneys to get used to and ready for the big stage.
Rafa should not play O2. And how on earth can anyone guarantee that this abdominal pain wont surface in a highly tense match
It wrong not to play just because you don’t like the surface if you’re young and fit enough.
32 is not young by any means. Just like 37 is not.
Wow Karen Khachanov won đź’Ş, congrats to him.
I thought Novak would win.
Very happy for KK. He is a nice guy with no trace of arrogance unlike Zverev.
absolutely agree, no arrogance
For whatever reason Djokovic has been in a bad mood the whole week with some ugly displays of bad temper including racket abuse and disputes with the umpires. Kkachinov took him completely by surprise this afternoon, and cold or no cold, Djokovic’s performance was way below par whereas Kkachinov rose to the challenge of his first master’s final magnificently.
I did not see the match, but congratulations to KK winning his first Masters in his first try. It sounds like he has continued to improve. He ended Novak’s winning streak.