Djokovic sets up Khachanov clash in Astana last eight

Serb Novak Djokovic, the No 4 seed, beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Astana Open at the Daulet National Tennis Center in Nur-Sultan on Thursday.

Djokovic, ranked No 7, will face Russian Karen Khachanov next.

The 35-year-old Serb won against Chilean Cristian Garin (6-1, 6-1) ahead of his victory.

Djokovic: My serve is working very well

“I think my serve worked very well when I needed to get out of the trouble in the first set particularly,” said Djokovic, who has not dropped serve in his past three matches.

“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 had a look at that passing shot and he missed it. The match is decided in these moments. [Between] 5-2 or 4-3 up there is a big difference, and I served well to end the first set.”

In the previous round of Nur-Sultan, van de Zandschulp, ranked No 34, defeated Kazakh wildcard Beibit Zhukayev (6-1, 6-1).

Nur-Sultan ATP 250, other second-round results:

• Emil Ruusuvuori vs. Daniil Medvedev
• Hubert Hurkacz (7) beat Alexander Bublik: 6-4, 6-4
• Karen Khachanov beat Marin Čilić (9): 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) beat Luca Nardi (Q): 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3)
• Roberto Bautista Agut beat Pavel Kotov (LL): 6-1, 7-6 (5)
• Adrian Mannarino beat David Goffin (LL): 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
• Andrey Rublev (5) beat Zhizhen Zhang (Q): 6-3, 6-2