MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2021) Russian tennis player Aslan Karatsev made history on Tuesday after beating Bulgarian Grigor Dmitrov to become the first man to reach Grand Slam semi-finals in his debut season.
Karatsev roundly beat Dmitrov, who appeared to be suffering from a back ailment, in four sets, continuing his unlikely cinderella run in the Australia Open.
The 27-year-old will now face either World No.1 Novak Djokovic or No.3 Alexander Zverev in the semi-final. Karatsev now looks all but assured to break into the Association of Tennis Professionals top 100 men's ranking from his current 114th position.
Dmitrov, World No.21, took the first set but was eventually overpowered by Karatsev in the subsequent three, with 2-6 6-4 6-1 6-2 on the final scoreboard.
"It's an unbelievable feeling," Karatsev said after the win. "It was really tough at the beginning for me to hold the nerves. I tried to find a way to playing the second set and then in the third set I saw he felt the back."
The Russian is in line to come away with a minimum of $662,000, more than his total career winnings of $618,000.
