Novak Djokovic has brutal review of Astana performance as outlines what ‘needs’ to change | Tennis | Sport
Novak Djokovic was his own biggest critic after advancing to the semi-finals of the Astana Open with a 6-4 6-3 win over Karen Khachanov. The fourth seed admitted he wasn’t as happy with his performance compared to his first two rounds as he admitted he “needed” to raise his level.
Djokovic win his 14th-consecutive match on Friday to advance to the last four in Astana, where he will face either Daniil Medvedev or Roberto Bautista Agut. It was also the seventh match in a row he won in straight sets but Khachanov proved his most difficult opponent of the week as the 21-time Grand Slam champion admitted he needed to “elevate” his game after being critical of his own performance.
“Well I honestly think I didn’t play as well from the baseline as I did in the first two matches but still it was enough,” he confessed after needing an hour and 27 minutes to dispatch the recent US Open semi-finalist. “I managed to produce some good tennis when it was the most needed in both sets.”
But the 35-year-old said the match still didn’t meet his super high expectations as he looked ahead to his next round.
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