Novak Djokovic recorded a 6-3, 6-1 victory against world no. 34 Botic Van De Zandschulp on Thursday to advance into the last eight at the ATP 500 event in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The Belgrade native needed just 71 minutes to claim the win in his maiden ATP H2H meeting against the Dutch, striking the ball just as cleanly as he had in his impressive first-round elimination of Cristian Garin.
Novak capitalised on four of his five chances. He broke once in the first set, and three times in the second, to seal the victory.
“My serve worked very well when I needed to get out of the trouble, in the first set particularly,” said Djokovic. “There were some 30/30 games, and when I broke his serve for 4-2, I faced a break point and I came in, and he missed that passing shot. The match was decided in those moments. Between 5-2 or 4-3 up there is a big difference, and I served well to end the first set. In the second set I started to read his serve better and just started swinging through the court more. Botic is a quality tennis player. I am very pleased with the way I played.”
Match statistics: aces (5-2), double faults (0-3), winners (23-14), unforced errors (10-17), total points won (57-35).
Novak will face Karen Khachanov (6-1 H2H record) in the quarter-finals on Friday at 14.00 CET. The Russian upset ninth seed Marin Cilic (CRO) in three sets 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Djokovic is attempting to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the 15th time. Thanks to his Wimbledon triumph this year, the Serb only needs to finish in the Top 20 of the Race To Turin in order to qualify for the season-ending showdown, where he is a five-time champion. He is currently ranked 14th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.
Photo: Reuters
