Qualifier Karatsev makes history at Aussie Open, Serena, Osaka win

Melbourne, Australia, Feb 16 (efe-epa).- Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev made history Tuesday by becoming the first player in the Open Era to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam in his debut, by defeating the injured No. 19 seed Grigor Dimitrov 2 -6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 in the Australian Open.

“It is an incredible feeling. I didn’t know he was injured before he started. At first I was a bit nervous,” said Karatsev after confirming himself as the fifth player to make a quarter-final from the qualifying round.

In the women’s draw, American Serena Williams beat No. 2 seed Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals and will face Japan’s Naomi Osaka for a place in the final.

“It was my best match so far this tournament. I knew I had to play a game and I’m very happy about it,” she said after winning an hour and a half.

Williams is just two games away from equaling Australian Margaret Court’s record as the player with the most Grand Slam titles, 24.

No. 3 seed Osaka also became a semifinalist after overcoming Taiwanese Su-Wei Hsieh’s intelligent game winning a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 match is just about an hour.

“It makes me feel very calm the fact of going through delicate moments throughout the competition,” she said after her victory. EFE-EPA

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