Top seed Aslan Karatsev battled past Daniel Evans 6-3 6-7 (13-15) 6-3 to reach the fourth final of his career at the Sydney Tennis Classic
Karatsev became the first player in the Open Era to reach the semifinals on his Grand Slam debut as a qualifier.
Karatsev broke Evans twice to race out to a 5-1 lead. Evans pulled one break back to 3-5. Karatsev served out the first set at love in the ninth game. The Russian player won 81% of his first serve points.
Evans fended off the only break point at 5-5. He three match points in a hard-fought tie-break before converting his sixth set point to win it 15-13.
Karatsev earned his first break in the second game to take a 3-0 lead. Evans broke back at deuce in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Karatsev earned the decisive break in the eighth game to close out the third set 6-3.
Karatsev set up a match against Andy Murray at the Sydney Tennis Classic.
“It was a tough match against Evans. He is a guy who doesn’t give you any free points at al. I will have to be prepared. I have to rest a bit, prepare mentally and physically, and we will see tomorrow”, said Karatsev.
