MELBOURNE, Australia – Aslan Karatsev had never managed to draw a Grand Slam. Now he just refuses to leave the Australian Open.
Karatsev, a 27-year-old Russian qualifier who ranks 114th, became the first professional man to reach the semifinals of his first major tennis tournament, defeating Grigor Dimitrov, ranked 18th, with 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Karatsev said. “It simply came to our notice then. First time in the main draw, first time in the semifinals. It’s incredible.”
This is a pretty good word for what he managed to do. Karatsev failed in nine previous attempts to go through qualifying rounds to play in a Grand Slam tournament.
Now he takes full advantage, passing Dimitrov – three times major semifinalist – after eliminating two other series players, no. 8 Diego Schwartzman and number 20 Felix Auger-Aliassime.
“It’s great to see. I think it’s great to see,” Dimitrov said of Karatsev’s success. “Surprised? No.”
Disturbed by the back spam that developed on Monday, Dimitrov was not in the best position. He finished the match barely able to serve – and barely managed to climb the stairs as he left Rod Laver Arena.
Dimitrov jumped to an early lead with three breaks in the first set. He then held seven break points in Karatsev’s first two service games in the second set, but did not convert any of them.
Then Karatsev began to believe that he could extend his already remarkable run even further.
“It was very difficult at first to keep my nerves,” Karatsev said. “It was difficult. I tried to play in the second set, to find a way to play. “
Dimitrov stopped chasing fire in the third set, then was visited by a coach and took a medical break to treat a muscle problem around his back.
He did not give up a set in his first four matches at the Australian Open, but said he had problems putting on his socks before the match.
“It started yesterday,” Dimitrov said, “out of the blue.”
Karatsev is the lowest ranked man to reach the Australian Open semifinals since Patrick McEnroe – John’s brother – was also number 114 in 1991 – and the lowest ranked man to reach the semifinals of any Slam, when Goran Ivanisevic was no. 125 at 2001 Wimbledon.
Karatsev will play Novak Djokovic, eight-time champion, or Alexander Zverev, next. Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev meet in a quarterfinal in the other half of the draw on Wednesday, which means there will be two Russians in the semifinals at Melbourne Park.
Asked his thoughts on the possibility of a completely Russian final, Karatsev was left with what he knows.
“I try not to think about it,” he said, adding that he was simply “going from game to game.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.