MELBOURNE, Australia – Aslan Karatsev never managed to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. Now he just refuses to leave the Australian Open.
Karatsev, a 27-year-old Russian qualifier who finished 114th, became the first man in the professional era to reach the semifinals of his first major tennis tournament by 18th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 2-6, 6-4, 6- to defeat. 1, 6-2 on Tuesday.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Karatsev said. ‘Of course it’s the first time. First time in main draw, first time semis. It’s amazing. ”
That’s a pretty good word for what he got right. Karatsev has failed in nine previous attempts to go through qualifying rounds to play at a Grand Slam tournament.
Now he makes optimal use and passes Dimitrov – a three-time big semi-final – after also beating two other selected players, Diego 8 Schwartzman and Felix Auger-Aliassime, no. 8, eliminated.
“It’s great to see. I think it’s great to see,” Dimitrov said of Karatsev’s success. “Surprised? None.”
Dimitrov was not at his best, given the backlash that developed Monday. He finished the match that could barely serve – and could barely walk up the stairs when he left Rod Laver Arena.
Dimitrov jumped early in the first set with three service interruptions. After that, he kept seven break points in Karatsev’s first two service matches in the second set, but did not convert one of them.
It was then that Karatsev began to believe that he could extend his already remarkable run even further.
“It was difficult for me at first to hold my nerves,” Karatsev said. “It was difficult. I tried to play in the second set to find a way how to play. ‘
Dimitrov stopped chasing shots in the third set, and was subsequently visited by a coach and taken a medical countout to treat a muscle problem around his lower back.
He did not drop a set in the first four matches at the Australian Open, but said he had trouble putting on his socks before the match.
“It started yesterday,” Dimitrov said out of the blue. ‘
Karatsev is the man with the lowest rank to reach the Australian Open semi-finals since Patrick McEnroe – John’s brother – in 1991 also no. 114 was – and the man with the lowest rank to reach the semifinals on any Slam since Goran Ivanisevic at no. 125 at 2001 Wimbledon.
Karatsev will next play the eight-time champion, Novak Djokovic, or Alexander Zverev. The Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev will meet in the quarter-finals on Wednesday in the other half of the draw, which means there will be two Russians in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park.
When asked about his thoughts on the possibility of a Russian final, Karatsev sticks to what he knows.
“I’m not trying to think about it,” he said, adding that he was simply “going from game to game.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.