Melbourne: Aslan Karatsev never made it into the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. Now he just refuses to leave the Australian Open.
Karatsev, a 27-year-old Russian qualifier ranked 114th, became the first man in the professional era to reach the semifinals of his first major tennis tournament by beating 18-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 2: 6, 6: 4, 6: 6 defeated. 1, 6-2 on Tuesday. “It’s an amazing feeling,” said Karatsev. “Of course it’s the first time. For the first time in the main draw; first time semis. It’s incredible.”
Karatsev is the lowest-ranked man to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open since Patrick McEnroe – John’s brother – was also number 114 in 1991 – and the lowest-ranked man to reach the semifinals of every slam since Goran Ivanisevic 2001 number 125 was Wimbledon. Karatsev will play against eight-time master Novak Djokovic, who next ousted Alexander Zverev with 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6.
Serena Williams has won the last five games, beating Halep 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday, returning to Melbourne Park for the first time since winning the tournament in 2017. Williams started a showdown against Naomi Osaka No. 3, who will play a winning streak of 19 games in the semi-finals on Thursday. Osaka beat Hsieh Su-wei 6-2, 6-2. “She’s Serena,” said Osaka. “I feel really intimidated when I see her across the square.”
This is their fourth career matchup – all on hard courts – and Osaka leads 2-1, the most memorable encounter of course in the 2018 US Open final. Williams got into an argument with the chairman of the umpire after their coach was caught trying to get a signal forward – which is not allowed in the Grand Slam game – and was docked at the end. Osaka’s win, which earned her first major title, ended with thousands of fans filling Arthur Ashe Stadium with boos, and both athletes were in tears during the trophy ceremony.
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