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MELBOURNE, Australia – He is the mysterious man few in sport had heard of just days ago. But Aslan Karatsev of Russia has landed in the semifinals of the Australian Open.
In one of the most unlikely races in modern tennis history, Karatsev on Tuesday became one of the few players to qualify for the final four of a Grand Slam after surviving the qualifying tournament by beating Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria in four sets 2 -6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
Karatsev, 27, who was born in Russia, moved to Israel as a child and then returned to Russia as a teenager to pursue better tennis training, according to The Times of Israel. He had been playing backcountry tennis for several years with little success. He had never qualified for a Grand Slam before this tournament. He won three straight matches at the Australian Open qualifier in Doha to earn a spot in the main event and placed No.114 in the world. It has never been ranked higher than No. 111.
Dimitrov appeared to have the game under control after the first set, but suffered what appeared to be spasms back in the third set and appeared to be set to retire for the remainder of the game.
Only four other players made it to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam after passing the qualifying round.
Prior to the Australian Open, he played doubles for Team Russia in the ATP Cup, a tag team event in which players represent their country. Russia won the competition, but not because of Karatsev, who lost all three matches in which he played with two different partners.
His teammates noticed he was playing as well as they had ever seen him, and yet none of them would have predicted anything like it.
“We felt like he could do something amazing,” said Daniil Medvedev, Russia’s top player and No. 4 seed in the Australian Open. “To be honest, being in your first Grand Slam main draw? Making neighborhoods is something exceptional. It is not yet finished.
It certainly isn’t.
Karatsev will face the winner of the match between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev, which is scheduled for Tuesday evening.
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