A poor Novak Djokovic made it to the quarterfinals

is incurable Novak Djokovic. Deportation from Australia and the fact that he could not enter North America because he did not want to be vaccinated against covid ended up feeding his competitive ego. They took some sweets from his mouth, he experienced frustrations that he could not even suspect of holding back Melbourne, but completed the turbo installation. And when it sounds, stopping it is an almost impossible challenge.

He has won 19 of his last 20 games, twelve in a row, since revalidating the crown in Wimbledon, your trampoline. And the defeat is one of those that appear in the history of the ATP, although with an asterisk that in the Laver Cup you do not know how each player was involved in this matter. Of course, he gave up against another player on a streak, the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Djokovic, 35 years old and world number 7, defeated the Russian Karen Khachanov26 years old and nº 19 by 6-4 and 6-1 in 1h.25′. He reached the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 ATP in Paris, a tournament he was aiming to win for the seventh time. In 2018, he lost in the final against Khachanov himself, which remains his only win against Belgrade in nine games.

This Friday he has an appointment with one of the young up-and-comers, Italian Lorenzo Musetti, 20 years old and number 23 ATP. He left the Norwegian in this ‘indoor’ on a hard court Casper Ruud4-6, 6-4 and 6-4.

This will be the third meeting in between Djokovic and Musetti, who became known around the world by winning two sets against the Balkan at Roland Garros 2021. The one from Carrara physically sank, which made it possible for ‘Nole’ to come back, winning 6-7 (7), 6-7 (2), 6-1 , 6-0, 4-0 and retired.

This season is superior in Dubai, double 6-3.