Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz win to secure semi matchup

PARIS — Novak Djokovic, in his words, felt “quite sluggish, quite slow” for nearly two full sets against Karen Khachanov in the French Open quarterfinals Tuesday.

Afterward, Djokovic called it his worst stretch of the tournament, a fair assessment. He dropped the opening set, something he hadn’t done at Roland Garros this year. As the second went to a tiebreaker in Court Philippe Chatrier, he knew it was vital to step up his game, bring forth his best. It’s one thing to seek perfection; it’s another entirely to deliver.

As if merely wanting so made it so, Djokovic did what he’s done before at crucial moments over the years en route to 22 Grand Slam titles. Managing to choose the right shot every time, managing to put each ball precisely where he intended, Djokovic threw a shutout of a tiebreaker to point himself toward what would become a 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 victory over the 11th-seeded Khachanov.

“Every point was perfectly scripted for me, so to say,” Djokovic said. “Yeah, sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. I was lucky that, throughout my career, I have a very good and positive score in the tiebreaks. My opponents know that, and I know that. So, I think, mentally that serves me well.”

Djokovic, who will meet No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in a much-anticipated semifinal Friday, found one word to describe that segment of the match: “Amazing.”

Alcaraz beat Djokovic on clay at the Madrid Masters last year in their only previous encounter, and the 20-year-old from Spain got past No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (5), on Tuesday night.

“Since the draw came out, everyone was expecting that match — the semifinal against Novak. Myself, as well. I really want to play that match,” Alcaraz said. “Since last year, I really wanted to play again against Novak.”

  Alcaraz progressed to his second major semifinal — the other came when he won the 2022 U.S. Open — by outclassing two-time Slam runner-up Tsitsipas in every possible manner until stumbling slightly near the finish line

Tsitsipas offered up an unusual explanation for his performance. Tsitsipas apparently wanted to snooze a bit before the match. “One thing that I’m going to try to avoid in the future is [having] melatonin pills and naps before matches,” Tsitsipas said, “because it clearly doesn’t seem to be working.”

n  Sabalenka, Muchova win

No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded Karolina Muchova both reached the women’s semifinals by winning earlier in the day. Sabalenka, the reigning champion at the Australian Open, eliminated Elina Svitolina, 6-4, 6-4. Muchova defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 7-5, 6-2.