Novak Djokovic defeated Karen Khachanov.

On Wednesday, world number one Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships after defeating Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (2) in his first competition since being deported before the Australian Open.

Djokovic got a lot of vociferous encouragement from the crowd, just like he did against Lorenzo Musetti in his first encounter here on Monday.

The Aviation Club received a strong crowd’s support and answered with some sparkling tennis beneath the lights.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion controlled the first set after breaking serve with a winner in the fourth game.

The second set was considerably more of a struggle, with Khachanov recovering from an early break of serve to tie the match at 4-4.

Djokovic had to pull out all the stops to hold off a fired-up Khachanov, taking the tiebreak and winning on his first match point.

The Serbian is participating for the first time this year after his Australian Open aspirations were shattered when he was deported after an 11-day fiasco involving his refusal to have a COVID-19 vaccination and a contentious exemption given to him to compete in the event.