A dialed-in Novak Djokovic cruised into the 10th Wimbledon quarterfinal of his career—and his 41st Grand Slam quarterfinal—with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 fourth-round win over Karen Khachanov on Monday.
After having to fight back from a set down to win his last match against No. 21 seed Kyle Edmund, the No. 12-seeded Djokovic had another shaky start—he lost serve in the first game of the match—but he broke back right away and was never really in trouble again in the one-hour, 45-minute contest.
“I like Karen as a player and as a person a lot,” Djokovic said after the match. “We have respect for each other. We practice together quite often. I don’t think I’d ever faced him before—but knowing his game, practicing with him a lot, I kind of prepared myself for what was potentially coming from him.”
Djokovic finished with more than twice as many winners as unforced errors, 29 to 12. Khachanov, meanwhile, hit 19 winners to 22 unforced errors, with one last backhand into the net on match point.
“I made him always play an extra shot—I don’t think he liked that,” Djokovic added. “He has a powerful game—big serve, big forehand—also his backhand is great for this surface, especially because he hits it very flat. He’s a big guy, a powerful guy. He’s working his way up the rankings.
“I think if he continues to play this way, he has a good chance to get to the Top 10.”
WATCH—Match point from Djokovic's win over Khachanov: