Australian Open 2021: quarter-finals! Sensational man Karatsev also beats Auger aliases
Aslan Karatsev is in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open 2021. The Russian qualifier made up a 0-2 set deficit against Félix Auger-Aliassime and won 3: 6, 1: 6, 6: 3, 6: 3 and 6: 4.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Feb 14, 2021, 06:40 am
And so the incredible journey of Aslan Karatsev, which began in Doha at the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open 2021 in early January, seemed to come to an end in the round of 16 of the first major of the year. An outstanding result, after all, Karatsev is currently contesting his Grand Slam premiere in Melbourne. Félix Auger-Aliassime was leading 6: 3 and 6: 1 on Sunday and seemed sure to be on the way to his first quarter-finals with a major. After an incredible comeback, however, Aslan Karatsev finds himself there again. The Russian won the last three sets almost safely with 6: 3, 6: 3 and 6: 4.
For both players it was the first five-set match of their careers, and Karatsev, who was currently number 114 in the ATP world rankings, became only the seventh player to reach the quarter-finals at his Grand Slam premiere. There the Russian meets the winner of the game between Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov . "I'm ready for both of them," Karatsev said with a laugh during his on-court interview.
Medvedev and Rublev could follow suit
After the Corona break, the 27-year-old initially made a name for himself in Prague: In the first of the two Challengers, he only lost in the final against Stan Wawrinka , and Karatsev won the second straight away. Just like those in Ostrava, there in the final against the German Oscar Otte. In Roland Garros, Aslan Karatsev was already close to his first Grand Slam main draw, but lost to Sebastian Korda in the last qualifying round.
Two more Russians could follow Karatsev into the quarter-finals on Monday: Daniil Medvedev is clearly the favorite against Mackenzie McDonald, Andrey Rublev meets Casper Ruud. With Medvedev and Rublev, Karatsev won the ATP Cup last week.
Here is the men's single tableau
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