Novak Djokovic will lock horns against Karen Khachanov in the semifinals of the Serbia Open on Saturday. The Serb has barely played this year and is in pursuit of his maiden title of the 2022 season.

Being the top seed in the draw, Djokovic received a bye in the first round. In the second round, he survived a massive scare against compatriot, Laslo Djere. In an epic that lasted close to three and half hours, Djokovic prevailed over Djere 2-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4).  He had to dig deep in his quarterfinals as well as he recorded a come-from-behind victory over Miomir Kecmanovic after dropping the opening set.

On the other hand, being the 3rd seed in the draw, Khachanov also received a bye in his opening round. After receiving a walkover against Roman Safiullin in his Round-of-16 clash, Khachanov beat Thiago Monteiro in straight sets in the quarterfinal.

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Djokovic vs Khachanov Preview

Owing to his vaccination status, Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia at the beginning of this season. Suffering a delayed start to his season, the Serbian finally played his first tournament in Dubai. However, far from his peak, the 34-year-old suffered a quarterfinal loss to Jiri Vesely.

The Australian Open wasn’t the only tournament that Novak couldn’t play because of his vaccination status. The Serb was denied entry into the US and was forced to withdraw from the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Masters. He last played at the Monte Carlo Masters, suffering a second-round loss. Hoping to better his results, he is now playing at his home country in front of his home crowd.

On the other hand, Khachanov started his season by being a runner-up at Adelaide International 1 and a quarterfinalist at Adelaide International 2. He suffered early-round exits at the Australian Open and Rotterdam. Even though he made a slight comeback in Doha (semifinals), he again suffered second-round exits in Dubai, Indian Wells, and Miami.

He last played at the Masters 1000 Monte Carlo, suffering a first-round loss to Diego Schwartzman. Against a rusty Djokovic, Khanchanov should be sniffing more than a chance in their upcoming encounter. The 25-year-old must grab his chances and choose the right moments to be aggressive to put Djokovic in trouble.

Novak Djokovic vs Karen Khachanov: Head-to-Head

Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov have met a total of 6 times in their career so far. They two have played each other 4 times on hard court, once on clay, and once on grass.

The first meeting between the two dates back to the fourth round of the 2018 Wimbledon, where Djokovic outplayed Khachanov in straight sets. Nevertheless, in the very same year, at Paris Masters 1000, Khachanov avenged his loss to beat Djokovic in the final to win his maiden Masters 1000 title.

However, even though Khachanov has played some impressive tennis over the years, it hasn’t been enough to match the highly balanced game of World No.1.

Djokovic leads 5-1 in the head-to-head race against Khachanov.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in three sets

Novak Djokovic has been struggling with form since the start of the season. In his twin come-from-behind victories so far in Belgrade, Djokovic has shown signs of being tentative and circumspect. Nonetheless, he should be delighted to spend much-needed time on the court. While Khachanov is the biggest test so far at the Serbia Open, one can expect the Serb to prevail in three sets over his younger opponent to reach his maiden final of the 2022 season.

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An intriguing and mouth-watering clash awaits us in Belgrade as Djokovic and Khachanov battle it out for a spot in the final.