Karen Khachanov beat Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-4 in the Paris final, 2018 on indoor hard court
It was the unseeded Khachanov's first Masters final and to date remains his only one. He'd beaten Dominic Thiem and Alex Zverev among others en route to the final. Djokovic had been going for a record extending 5th title at the event
Khachanov won 73 points, Djokovic 64
Serve Stats
Khachanov...
- 1st serve percentage (50/66) 76%
- 1st serve points won (38/50) 76%
- 2nd serve points won (8/16) 50%
- Aces 9, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (18/66) 27%
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (43/71) 61%
- 1st serve points won (30/43) 70%
- 2nd serve points won (14/28) 50%
- Aces 5
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (19/71) 27%
Serve Pattern
Khachanov served...
- to FH 45%
- to BH 45%
- to Body 9%
Djokovic served...
- to FH 44%
- to BH 53%
- to Body 3%
Return Stats
Khachanov made...
- 51 (25 FH, 26 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 2 Winners (1 FH, 1 BH)
- 14 Errors, comprising...
- 10 Unforced (7 FH, 3 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 4 Forced (2 FH, 2 BH)
- Return Rate (51/70) 73%
Djokovic made...
- 46 (24 FH, 22 BH)
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (2 BH)
- 6 Forced (3 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (46/64) 72%
Break Points
Khachanov 3/8 (4 games)
Djokovic 1/5 (2 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Khachanov 22 (12 FH, 5 BH, 4 FHV, 1 OH)
Djokovic 13 (6 FH, 3 BH, 4 FHV)
Khachanov's FHs - 4 cc (1 return, 1 pass), 3 dtl (1 pass), 1 dtl/inside-out, 2 inside-out, 1 longline/cc and 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl pass at net
- BHs - 3 cc (1 return pass, 1 at net) and 2 dtl passes (1 at net)
Djokovic's FHs - 2 cc, 1 dtl, 1 inside-in, 1 longline at net and 1 drop shot at net
- BHs - 1 dtl/inside-out, 1 inside-out/dtl and 1 longline
- 1 FHV was a swinging shot
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Khachanov 30
- 20 Unforced (10 FH, 9 BH, 1 OH)
- 10 Forced (5 FH, 4 BH, 1 BHV)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46
Djokovic 32
- 24 Unforced (10 FH, 14 BH)
- 8 Forced (1 FH, 4 BH, 2 FH1/2V, 1 BH1/2V)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.8
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Khachanov was...
- 11/14 (79%) at net, with...
- 0/1 forced back
Djokovic was...
- 11/22 (50%) at net, including...
- 1/2 serve-volleying, comprising...
- 1/1 off 1st serve and...
- 0/1 off 2nd serve
---
- 0/1 forced back
Match Report
Impresssive showing of power tennis from Khachanov and a weary, weird one from Djokovic on a slow-ish court
Match starts as you'd probably expect it to. Djoko keeping ball in play firmly, and Khach struggling to match him from the back. Khach survives a break point in his first service game (10 points) and then climbs out of a 0-40 hole in his second before eventually succumbing to be broken in it
He breaks back at once in a somewhat sloppy game from Djoko. And then proceeds to dominate remainder of set (where play is standard, high quality) and for that matter, the match (where play is weird quality)
Lots of positives for Khach -
- a big serve, particularly allied to follow up big FH
- a sound, secure BH
- fine net play
- excellent passing
On down side, he's a bit off on the return. The big serve + big FH is the major highlight and shines through even when Djoko is playing normally. The rest are made to look particularly good by Djoko when he's playing something less than that
Djoko for his part plays a decent first set - solid, stable, not doing too much off the ground, outlasting Khach from the back. He's a little weary looking (and quite irritiable) but his play is well within his norm for the period
Even in that period, he struggles to return a challenging serve and has no answer for Khach's FH shotmaking (from very advantageous positions). Not much neutralizing let alone initive grabbing returning from Djoko - credit Khach for that
Comes to net to give game teeth, but Khach is excellent on the pass to keep Djoko's success up there down
Second set is a different story. Djoko looks particularly weary and after going down a break, appears to be phoning it in. Harmless serving, not moving returns, not moving much or at all well, attacking out the blue, irregular of the ground. Looks like he's clocked out
In first set, its Khach hitting winners and making UEs. In second, its Djoko
On scoreline front, set remains competitive because Khach pseudo-tanks return games with carefree swinging misses on the return
In general, Djokovic looking weary and playing with abandon isn't the rarest sight in tennis and more often than not, he's able to steel himself to remain competitive at least. Not here. Scoreline remains competitive because Khach plays carelessly on return to allow Djoko to hold after the one break.
How has it come out in stats?
Huge 76% first serves in for Khach (Djoko has 61%) is excellent and would be a handful for anyone. Very good 9 aces and 1 service winner (Djoko has 5 aces) is somewhat helped by Djoko not moving for returns in 2nd set, though they'd be tough to get in play regardless of effort
Unreturned rates though are dead equal at low-moderate 27%. With Khach serving powerfully and Djoko the opposite, that isn't particularly good for Khach. 10/19 Djoko unreturned serves are Khach return UEs. Just 2/18 of Khach's are Djoko return UEs by contrast. Lots of careless return errors by Khach, especially in second set against harmless serves from Djoko
Equal unreturned rates aren't much problem in actuality, because Kach blasts FHs to finish off weak returns quickly. FH has top numbers of 12 winners, 10 UEs - and almost all are in the competitive first set. Djoko doesn't draw weak returns, and doesn't have that option, though he gets cavilar aggressive in 2nd set, with hit-and-miss success. He's already down a break by then and though ends up not going down further, it looks anything but sustainable
BH UEs read Khach 9, Djoko 14. That's poor showing from Djoko and solid enough from Khack. Those figures are heavily divided by set -
- In set 1 - Khach 9, Djoko 5
- In set 2 - Khach 0, Djoko 9
For Djoko, outsteadying Khach off the BH in first set is how he goes about winning points to match Khach's FH point finishing. Khach's BH hitting is healthy and he's secure enough even in first set. Decent job from Khach when play is normal and a poor job from a half-baked Djoko later on
Khach comes to net to finish with good instincts and is 11/14 at net (including losing a point he's forced back on). Its a way to augment and make most of his hitting advantage; He overpowers Djoko from back and comes in, volleying soundly as needed without being tested
Djoko's at net much more at 22 times, but only wins 11. Some good passing from defensive positions from Khach. No UEs from Djoko in forecout and all 3 of his FEs are half-volleys. Even that's helped by Djoko's poor movement getting to net and getting down for the volley. He usually doesn't come in behind overly strong approach shots. Still, more credit to Khach on the pass then discredit Djoko's net play
In all, excellent 22 winners, 20 UEs and forcing 8 errors showing from Khach. A bit flatteringly so, but just a bit
In first set, when he takes charge of action, he's 15 winners, 18 UEs.... which is excellent
In second, when Djoko's playing with careless, random aggression, he's got 7 winners, 2 UEs... better numbers, but Djoko's sloppiness is heart of play and leave Khach luxary of letting Djoko get his own rope out to hang himself with
Djoko is not good. 13 winners, 24 UEs, while forcing 10 errors. Is fair indicator of how poor he is
In first set, he's solid enough in is typical way and wins points by outlasting Khach. In second, he's out to lunch
Summing up, very simply, strong showing from Khachanov and a poor one from Djokovic. Some excellent serve + power FH play from the Khachanov, supported by good movement and he's steady enough even when tested by a focused opponent. Djokovic is a bit flat, but solid enough for a set. And he's overpowered in it. Thereafter, Djokovic falls away leaving Khachanov to run to finish line
Credit to Khachanov and more discredit to Djokovic than that
Stats for Djokovic's semi with Roger Federer - Duel Match Stats/Reports - Djokovic vs Federer, Paris semi-finals, 2013 & 2018 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
It was the unseeded Khachanov's first Masters final and to date remains his only one. He'd beaten Dominic Thiem and Alex Zverev among others en route to the final. Djokovic had been going for a record extending 5th title at the event
Khachanov won 73 points, Djokovic 64
Serve Stats
Khachanov...
- 1st serve percentage (50/66) 76%
- 1st serve points won (38/50) 76%
- 2nd serve points won (8/16) 50%
- Aces 9, Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (18/66) 27%
Djokovic...
- 1st serve percentage (43/71) 61%
- 1st serve points won (30/43) 70%
- 2nd serve points won (14/28) 50%
- Aces 5
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (19/71) 27%
Serve Pattern
Khachanov served...
- to FH 45%
- to BH 45%
- to Body 9%
Djokovic served...
- to FH 44%
- to BH 53%
- to Body 3%
Return Stats
Khachanov made...
- 51 (25 FH, 26 BH), including 2 runaround FHs
- 2 Winners (1 FH, 1 BH)
- 14 Errors, comprising...
- 10 Unforced (7 FH, 3 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 4 Forced (2 FH, 2 BH)
- Return Rate (51/70) 73%
Djokovic made...
- 46 (24 FH, 22 BH)
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (2 BH)
- 6 Forced (3 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (46/64) 72%
Break Points
Khachanov 3/8 (4 games)
Djokovic 1/5 (2 games)
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Khachanov 22 (12 FH, 5 BH, 4 FHV, 1 OH)
Djokovic 13 (6 FH, 3 BH, 4 FHV)
Khachanov's FHs - 4 cc (1 return, 1 pass), 3 dtl (1 pass), 1 dtl/inside-out, 2 inside-out, 1 longline/cc and 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl pass at net
- BHs - 3 cc (1 return pass, 1 at net) and 2 dtl passes (1 at net)
Djokovic's FHs - 2 cc, 1 dtl, 1 inside-in, 1 longline at net and 1 drop shot at net
- BHs - 1 dtl/inside-out, 1 inside-out/dtl and 1 longline
- 1 FHV was a swinging shot
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Khachanov 30
- 20 Unforced (10 FH, 9 BH, 1 OH)
- 10 Forced (5 FH, 4 BH, 1 BHV)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46
Djokovic 32
- 24 Unforced (10 FH, 14 BH)
- 8 Forced (1 FH, 4 BH, 2 FH1/2V, 1 BH1/2V)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 45.8
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Khachanov was...
- 11/14 (79%) at net, with...
- 0/1 forced back
Djokovic was...
- 11/22 (50%) at net, including...
- 1/2 serve-volleying, comprising...
- 1/1 off 1st serve and...
- 0/1 off 2nd serve
---
- 0/1 forced back
Match Report
Impresssive showing of power tennis from Khachanov and a weary, weird one from Djokovic on a slow-ish court
Match starts as you'd probably expect it to. Djoko keeping ball in play firmly, and Khach struggling to match him from the back. Khach survives a break point in his first service game (10 points) and then climbs out of a 0-40 hole in his second before eventually succumbing to be broken in it
He breaks back at once in a somewhat sloppy game from Djoko. And then proceeds to dominate remainder of set (where play is standard, high quality) and for that matter, the match (where play is weird quality)
Lots of positives for Khach -
- a big serve, particularly allied to follow up big FH
- a sound, secure BH
- fine net play
- excellent passing
On down side, he's a bit off on the return. The big serve + big FH is the major highlight and shines through even when Djoko is playing normally. The rest are made to look particularly good by Djoko when he's playing something less than that
Djoko for his part plays a decent first set - solid, stable, not doing too much off the ground, outlasting Khach from the back. He's a little weary looking (and quite irritiable) but his play is well within his norm for the period
Even in that period, he struggles to return a challenging serve and has no answer for Khach's FH shotmaking (from very advantageous positions). Not much neutralizing let alone initive grabbing returning from Djoko - credit Khach for that
Comes to net to give game teeth, but Khach is excellent on the pass to keep Djoko's success up there down
Second set is a different story. Djoko looks particularly weary and after going down a break, appears to be phoning it in. Harmless serving, not moving returns, not moving much or at all well, attacking out the blue, irregular of the ground. Looks like he's clocked out
In first set, its Khach hitting winners and making UEs. In second, its Djoko
On scoreline front, set remains competitive because Khach pseudo-tanks return games with carefree swinging misses on the return
In general, Djokovic looking weary and playing with abandon isn't the rarest sight in tennis and more often than not, he's able to steel himself to remain competitive at least. Not here. Scoreline remains competitive because Khach plays carelessly on return to allow Djoko to hold after the one break.
How has it come out in stats?
Huge 76% first serves in for Khach (Djoko has 61%) is excellent and would be a handful for anyone. Very good 9 aces and 1 service winner (Djoko has 5 aces) is somewhat helped by Djoko not moving for returns in 2nd set, though they'd be tough to get in play regardless of effort
Unreturned rates though are dead equal at low-moderate 27%. With Khach serving powerfully and Djoko the opposite, that isn't particularly good for Khach. 10/19 Djoko unreturned serves are Khach return UEs. Just 2/18 of Khach's are Djoko return UEs by contrast. Lots of careless return errors by Khach, especially in second set against harmless serves from Djoko
Equal unreturned rates aren't much problem in actuality, because Kach blasts FHs to finish off weak returns quickly. FH has top numbers of 12 winners, 10 UEs - and almost all are in the competitive first set. Djoko doesn't draw weak returns, and doesn't have that option, though he gets cavilar aggressive in 2nd set, with hit-and-miss success. He's already down a break by then and though ends up not going down further, it looks anything but sustainable
BH UEs read Khach 9, Djoko 14. That's poor showing from Djoko and solid enough from Khack. Those figures are heavily divided by set -
- In set 1 - Khach 9, Djoko 5
- In set 2 - Khach 0, Djoko 9
For Djoko, outsteadying Khach off the BH in first set is how he goes about winning points to match Khach's FH point finishing. Khach's BH hitting is healthy and he's secure enough even in first set. Decent job from Khach when play is normal and a poor job from a half-baked Djoko later on
Khach comes to net to finish with good instincts and is 11/14 at net (including losing a point he's forced back on). Its a way to augment and make most of his hitting advantage; He overpowers Djoko from back and comes in, volleying soundly as needed without being tested
Djoko's at net much more at 22 times, but only wins 11. Some good passing from defensive positions from Khach. No UEs from Djoko in forecout and all 3 of his FEs are half-volleys. Even that's helped by Djoko's poor movement getting to net and getting down for the volley. He usually doesn't come in behind overly strong approach shots. Still, more credit to Khach on the pass then discredit Djoko's net play
In all, excellent 22 winners, 20 UEs and forcing 8 errors showing from Khach. A bit flatteringly so, but just a bit
In first set, when he takes charge of action, he's 15 winners, 18 UEs.... which is excellent
In second, when Djoko's playing with careless, random aggression, he's got 7 winners, 2 UEs... better numbers, but Djoko's sloppiness is heart of play and leave Khach luxary of letting Djoko get his own rope out to hang himself with
Djoko is not good. 13 winners, 24 UEs, while forcing 10 errors. Is fair indicator of how poor he is
In first set, he's solid enough in is typical way and wins points by outlasting Khach. In second, he's out to lunch
Summing up, very simply, strong showing from Khachanov and a poor one from Djokovic. Some excellent serve + power FH play from the Khachanov, supported by good movement and he's steady enough even when tested by a focused opponent. Djokovic is a bit flat, but solid enough for a set. And he's overpowered in it. Thereafter, Djokovic falls away leaving Khachanov to run to finish line
Credit to Khachanov and more discredit to Djokovic than that
Stats for Djokovic's semi with Roger Federer - Duel Match Stats/Reports - Djokovic vs Federer, Paris semi-finals, 2013 & 2018 | Talk Tennis (tennis-warehouse.com)
Last edited:
