Fatigue is to blame.

This was the general narrative coming out of France after Karen Khachanov defeated Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-4 at the Paris Masters final on Sunday. Djokovic himself admitted that he hadn’t had sufficient recovery time after Saturday’s gruelling 3-hour semifinal against Roger Federer.

This blanket statement attributing Djokovic’s defeat to his physical state is too simplistic, and fails to properly analyze how Khachanov was able to end the Serb’s 22-match winning streak.

Djokovic, after all, had multiple opportunities to win the first set. But Khachanov’s effective passing shots, strong defence, and cool head under pressure allowed him to prevail.

Let’s take a look at some key points in the Russian’s victory:

Djokovic serving at 3-1, 30-30

Djokovic began to creep forward after a solid crosscourt backhand put Khachanov in a defensive position. Khachanov sensed that his opponent was attacking, and hit a great backhand slice at the Serb’s feet. If Djokovic had been closer to the net, he may have been able to cut the shot off earlier. Instead, Khachanov’s slice allowed him to go on the offensive and win a crucial point. The six-foot-six Russian broke back on the following point to get the first set back on serve.

Djokovic serving at 3-3, first point

Throughout this point, Djokovic hammered multiple well-angled inside out forehands to Khachanov’s backhand. The 22-year-old stayed in the point with excellent defence, eventually winning the point with the aid of a brilliant drop shot. Djokovic went on to hold serve this game, rendering the first point moot. Nevertheless, this point was representative of the kind of defence Khachanov played throughout the match.

Khachanov serving at 4-5, 0-30

Khachanov couldn’t afford to go down triple set point, making this point critical.

The two players engage in the kind of taxing baseline rally that Djokovic usually wins. Instead, Khachanov stayed solid to eventually force an error from Djokovic. Khachanov won 9 of 16 points in the match that had a rally length of more than 9 shots. It’s not a statistic that the 14-time Grand Slam champion is on the losing end of very often.

Khachanov serving at 4-5, 30-30

Two points later, Khachanov got a short forehand after an effective body serve. He didn’t miss it.

Djokovic serving at 5-5, 30-30

Djokovic surprises Khachanov with a well placed down the line backhand after Khachanov was expecting the shot to go cross-court. Khachanov doesn’t just get to the ball, but hits a remarkable defensive lob that skids off the base line. He later wins the point on a Djokovic forehand error.

Djokovic serving at 5-5, 30-40

Two things are notable from this point.

A.) Khachanov’s defence – Djokovic began the point by crushing a crosscourt backhand and down the line forehand. Khachanov responded with defensive slices that landed deep enough to stay in the point.

B.) The Serb’s poor positioning – Djokovic chose to attack the net after an inside-out forehand. But he was barely at the service line by the time Khachanov’s passing shot crossed the net. The Moscow native hit effective passing shots all match that stayed low. Still, facing break point, Djokovic should have either stayed at the base line or been closer to the net.

Khachanov serving at 6-5, love-30

For the second straight service game, Khachanov was tight from the outset, losing the first two points to go down love-30. Staying calm under pressure, he blasts a forehand that clips the line to get back in the game. Two inches to the left, and it would have been love-40.

He faced another tense point at 15-30.

After a bruising forehand, Khachanov senses his opportunity and comes forward to end the point with an inside out forehand volley.

Khachanov serving at 6-5, 30-30

Khachanov blasts another forehand down the line that Djokovic is unable to return in play.

He won the set 7-5 with a service winner down the tee on the following point. On his final two service games of the opening set, Khachanov successfully held serve after facing love-30 deficits.

The 22-year-old went on to break Djokovic in the third game of the second set. Khachanov made the service break hold up to win the second set, 6-4, and capture his first Masters 1000 title.

To explain his historic victory, you can look at the poise that Khachanov played with during significant points throughout the match. You can point to the fact that Khachanov won both of his break points in the opening set while Djokovic converted just one of seven break points over that same time span.

Or you can just say that Djokovic was tired.