Australian Open 2021: Wounded champ Djokovic wary of Karatsev, a qualifier with nothing to lose
Djokovic has won 19 straight matches at the Australian Open, but Karatsev is undaunted saying he is loving the attention. AFP
Novak Djokovic has won eight Australian Open titles but will step into unknown territory on Thursday when he faces a Russian qualifier “with nothing to lose” in the first men’s semi-final.
The world number one, who has been hampered by an abdominal injury, confessed that he had not seen much of tournament surprise Aslan Karatsev, but what little he did know convinced him not to take the world number 114 lightly.
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Who is Aslan Karatsev? Inside the Cinderella story of the Australian Open
Aslan Karatsev became the first man in the professional era to reach the semifinals of his first major tennis tournament by beating 18th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday.
AP Photo/Hamish Blair
Matt Walsh is a Melbourne-based sports journalist who willingly travels far and wide to watch any sport. Not only has he seen NFL in Dallas, football in London, baseball in Arlington and hockey in Boston, he s covered F1, AFL, Wimbledon and the Australian Open for a number of media outlets.
MELBOURNE, Australia Fairy-tale runs at Grand Slams aren t unusual.
Editor s Note: This story was originally published on 17 February 2021.
Aslan Karatsev was the breakthrough player of this year s Australian Open, where he made the semi-finals as a qualifier. The Russian upset three seeded opponents during his dream run Diego Schwartzman, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Grigor Dimitrov.
Karatsev has maintained his momentum since departing Melbourne. He defeated countryman Andrey Rublev on Friday to reach his first ATP Tour final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Before Karatsev plays Lloyd Harris for the trophy, ATPTour.com looks at five things you should know about the Russian.
1) The Russian s Run Of Form Started On The ATP Challenger Tour
Preview: Novak Djokovic Wary Of Aslan Karatsev; He s Here For A Reason | ATP Tour atptour.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from atptour.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.