Novak Djokovic’s 23rd Grand Slam win had all the hallmarks of what brought him to this record-breaking pinnacle

In a battle of titanic hitters, 10th seed Karen Khachanov dispatched eighth seed Juan Martin del Potro, 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, to advance to his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal Monday at Roland Garros.

Del Potro was not at full strength, but all credit goes to the Russian, who played a fantastic match from start to finish. As much as the Parisian crowd tried, they could not propel the 2018 semifinalist to victory. Khachanov’s game plan was simple: hit huge to the corners and break down the hobbled Argentine’s legs. He executed it to near perfection.

Khachanov converted his only break point of the first set to clinch the set. Del Potro was unable to convert any of his five break chances in the first set, missed opportunities that would prove costly. Although Del Potro fought valiantly to win the third set, Khachanov was more successful off the ground, finishing with 58 winners and only 35 unforced errors to Del Potro's 42 winners and 48 unforced errors.

With his win, Khachanov will crack the Top 10 for the first time. The 23-year-old will face off against last year's finalist Dominic Thiem for a spot in the semifinals on Wednesday. Khachanov won the pair's lone previous meeting last November on indoor hard courts en route to lifting his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Paris.

Catch up on Week 1 at Roland Garros on the TENNIS.com Podcast:

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