"It's the best watching the best playing their best" - Pam Shriver astounded by Novak Djokovic's level during French Open QF

Former World No. 3 Pam Shriver was impressed with Novak Djokovic’s game during his quarterfinal victory over Karen Khachanov at the 2023 French Open.

Novak Djokovic sealed his place in the 45th Grand Slam semifinal of his career with an emphatic 4-6, 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 11 seed Karen Khachanov. The Serbian lost the first set 4-6 and could not break his opponent's serve during the second, leading to a tie-break.

However, the 22-time Grand Slam champion shifted gears as he claimed the tiebreak without losing a single point. Djokovic consolidated his tie-break performance with a near-perfect third set, making just one unforced error. The No. 3 seed broke Khachanov’s serve twice to take the third set 6-2.

Pam Shriver relished watching Djokovic play at his highest level. Shriver took to Twitter to express her feelings, stating it was the “best to watch the best play their best.”

“A perfect tiebreaker is followed up by a perfect set. (Oh sorry 1 unforced error this set) It’s the Best watching the Best playing their Best!” tweeted Shriver.

Novak Djokovic has played five tie-breaks at this year’s Roland Garros and has won all of them. He also improved his tie-break record for 2023 to 14-4 with his perfect 7-0 win in the second set.

Khachanov managed to break Djokovic’s serve in the fourth set to make it 4-4; however, the Serb responded immediately. Djokovic broke for the second time in the next game and served out the match, winning eight straight points in the last two games.

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“I think he was the better player for most of the two sets” - Novak Djokovic praised Karen Khachanov after French Open QF win

In his on-court interview following the victory, Novak Djokovic admitted his opponent Karen Khachanov was the better player in the first two sets.

“I think he was the better player for most of the [first] two sets,” Djokovic said.

The Serb also admitted he struggled to find a rhythm at the beginning of the match.

“I was struggling to find my rhythm. I made a lot of unforced errors and came into the match quite slow, quite sluggish,” he said.

Djokovic failed to break Khachanov’s serve during the first two sets. His first break of serve was the mini-break during his perfect tie-break win. He went on to convert four of eight break points in the third and fourth sets to seal his victory in three hours and 38 minutes.

Novak Djokovic is now only two wins away from a record-breaking 23rd singles Grand Slam title, a triple Career Grand Slam, and regaining the World No. 1 ranking.

The Serb will next face either current World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz or Stefanos Tsitsipas, who face off in the second men’s quarterfinal in the night session on Tuesday, June 6.