From qualification to the semifinals of the Grand Slam. Karatsev has broken into the tennis world

The Australian Open will not offer a Russian final. Russian tennis player Aslan Karatsev was still ranked in the world’s second 100 before the tournament, now his story has made the tennis world go round. Thanks to his semi-final appearance, he not only gained absolute attention, but also rocketed up the rankings.

Before we get to the first Grand Slam of the season, let’s go back to the summer of 2020, when the virtually unknown Aslan Karatsev dominated the Czech Republic. 3 tournaments, including 2 wins and 1 final. That’s when word slowly started to get out about the form of the then 26-year-old Russian.

He hadn’t yet made it through the French Open qualifiers, but Karatsev wanted to rise.

And with the new year, he really succeeded. In the qualification for the opening tournament of the “Big Four”, the Australian Open, he lost a single set in the first round against Japan’s Nakashima, after which he was sovereign. He was about to make his debut on Australian Grand Slam soil, which was also his debut on the Grand Slam in general. And for a first attempt, it was a fine one indeed.

Karatsev made it through to the fourth round without losing a set. In the first two rounds it was the Italian Mager and the Belarusian Gerasimov. That wouldn’t be so strange. But when the 3:0 win came against the number eight seed Diego Schwartzman, the qualifier started to be seen with different eyes.

In the eighth round, it looked like Aslan Karatsev’s name would remain on Felix Auger-Alassim’s racket. The Canadian won the first 2 sets 6::3 and 6::1 and was heading to the next round. But in the end he had to bow out after 3 hours and 28 minutes. No one could take the Russian lightly anymore. The already unbelievable story could write another chapter.

And once again, a victorious one. Karatsev’s quarter-final match against Grigor Dimitrov was won by the Russian 3:1 in sets. He was 1: 0 down, but then health complications that plagued the Bulgarian helped him. Who knows how it would have been if the seeded 18 had been fine. But we will never know and the only thing that was true was that the Russian was among the last four.

If someone had told you before the Australian Open that Aslan Karatsev would advance to the semifinals, you would probably have thought they were crazy. But no one would have blamed you. However, if you look at every match the Russian has played, you have to admit that he played the semifinals by absolute right. Simple and, above all, accurate play earned him a position among the last four.

But the toughest task awaited him in the form of Novak Djokovic. So what if he lost 0:3 in sets. His tale will forever go down as one of the best tennis has written.

Karatsev’s success will shoot him from 114th to 42nd, which will see the 27-year-old Russian improve his best by 69 places. It will ensure he can play better tournaments without qualifying and by defending just a few points, he can go even higher. He certainly has the qualities to do so.

Source: ATP, Australian Open