MELBOURNE • Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev yesterday revealed that his target had merely been to break the top 100, after he made history by reaching the Australian Open semi-finals on his debut.
The 27-year-old’s dream run continued with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 win over injury-hit Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov to set up a last-four clash with top seed Novak Djokovic.
Karatsev became the first Slam debutant in the Open era to reach a semi-final, and just the second qualifier to do so at the Australian Open after Bob Giltinan in 1977.
He was also the lowest-ranked man, at 114th, to make the semis at a Slam since Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon in 2001 when ranked 125th. His ranking is now projected to soar into the top 50 after his breakthrough performance.
“Of course not,” Karatsev said when asked if he imagined being two wins away from a first Major.
“My first step was to try to go to top 100 by the end of last year and it didn’t happen. So I said, okay, from the beginning, my first step (this year) was to be top 100. So that was my thought.”
A virtual unknown before the tournament started, Karatsev has spent the bulk of his professional career fighting for points on the second-tier Challenger Tour.
After suffering a knee injury in 2017, he even contemplated ending his career but newfound belief has fuelled him in Melbourne.
He defeated eighth seed Diego Schwartzman and 20th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is the top-ranked player at next week’s Singapore Open, on his way to the last four. No qualifier at one of the four Majors has gone on to reach that year’s tournament final but having defied all predictions, there is nothing to lose for Karatsev.
“I try to believe what I’m doing on the court, and it’s helped me to win matches,” he said. “I arrive on the court and say, ‘Okay, I try to do my best with more belief’.”
Revealing he had already been bombarded by around 200 WhatsApp messages after booking his semi-final berth, he added: “It’s amazing… I’m just trying to enjoy the moment.”
His victory was achieved against a player struggling with back spasms since Monday despite previously upsetting US Open champion and third seed Dominic Thiem. The 18th-seeded Dimitrov said “adrenaline” took him through the early stages of the match, but his movement became hampered as he struggled to serve and chase down returns.
“I couldn’t put my socks on before the match, so I knew it was going to be a tough moment for me,” the 2017 ATP Finals champion and world No. 21 said.
Eight-time champion Djokovic has also been struggling with fitness issues at Melbourne Park, but the world No. 1 overcame an abdominal injury to beat sixth seed Alexander Zverev 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6). The German will rue allowing Djokovic back from 4-1 down in the third set and he was also up 3-0 in the fourth.
The Serb, nicknamed “Djoker”, said: “There were lots of nerves out there, emotionally I feel a little drained, it was a great battle, tough luck to Sacha. We pushed ourselves to the limits.”
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS