Novak Djokovic passes Karen Khachanov test to advance to Astana Open semi-final

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Novak Djokovic survived his toughest match of the week at the Astana Open as he got past Karen Khachanov 6-4 6-3 to reach the semi-finals. The world No 7 is playing just his second tournament in three months and won his 14th-successive match despite finding himself frustrated by Khachanov’s ability at times during their quarter-final. Djokovic got off to a perfect start in his eighth meeting with Khachanov, breaking the US Open semi-finalist in his very first service game to take a 3-0 lead. But the fourth seed then hit a series of uncharacteristic errors to hand Khachanov the break back at 3-2 as momentum quickly changed. It was the world No 18 who then took three games on the bounce as he started to win the longer exchanges with Djokovic looking on the back foot at times, but the world No 7 quickly restored balance as he held to love. Sitting down with a 5-4 lead later in the set, the 35-year-old could be seen looking unhappy with something as he briefly called over to his box. But he had nothing to worry about, breaking at a crucial take to take the set 6-4 in 41 minutes despite a brief wobble earlier on. The 21-time Grand Slam champion grew further irritated in the second game of the second set as he failed to capitalise on a break point on the Khachanov serve. JUST IN: Federer 'not worried' about future of tennis after the Big Three era

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