Third seed Novak Djokovic's flawless second-set tiebreak has proved the turning point in his victory over Karen Khachanov in their French Open quarter-final, but the Serb says he needs to improve, if he is to book a spot in the final.
Djokovic, who will face either Spain's world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz or Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the last four, says a bad start almost cost him the match, but he eventually prevailed 4-6 7-6(0) 6-2 6-4.
"It [tiebreak] was probably the turning point of the match," said Djokovic, chasing a recordbreaking 23rd men's singles Grand Slam title. "Winning the second set or losing the second set would be quite a big difference.
"It worked really well for me. I must say I played a perfect tiebreak, seven-love.
"Every point was perfectly scripted for me, so to say."
Djokovic, 36, who is level on 22 majors with Spaniard Rafael Nadal, had not dropped a set in his previous four rounds, but Khachanov had him on the ropes for almost two sets.
"Everything was going in a great direction, and then I stepped out on the court today and probably part of me stayed in the locker room," Djokovic said. "That's how I felt, that's how I played.
"First couple sets were probably the worst two sets I played so far in the tournament. It's not the first match that I managed to turn things around.
"These kind of wins, I think, serve as a great confidence-booster mentally, so also physically and emotionally for me.
"It's important to win a match, where you were losing or you were being down, and then you came back and won a match, especially at the latter stage of a Grand Slam."
Djokovic warns he needs to up his game, if he is to reach the final for a seventh time.
Nadal, a record 14-time winner at Paris, is sidelined, after hip muscle surgery.
"I will analyse my game from today with my team and be better prepared for the next one," Djokovic said. "I definitely need to have a better start in the semis."
Reuters
