Aslan Karatsev's Cinderella story and historic run continued after sensationally reaching the Australian Open semi-finals as Grigor Dimitrov struggled dramatically with injury on Tuesday.
Former world number three Dimitrov won the opening set and was on track to move through in Melbourne, but he faded alarmingly due to a lower back problem.
Karatsev capitalised to oust his much-more fancied opponent – who was barely able to walk afterwards – 2-6 6-4 6-1 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena, the Russian qualifier and world number 114 becoming the first man in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals on his grand slam debut.
The unheralded 27-year-old also became just the second qualifier to advance to the Australian Open last four after Bob Giltinan in December 1977 as defending champion Novak Djokovic or Alexander Zverev await.
Dimitrov was aiming to reach his second Australian Open semi-final and the final four of a slam for the fourth time in his career, and the Bulgarian star started well.
After being broken in the third game, 18th seed Dimitrov put the set back on serve immediately as he took control of proceedings.
Dimitrov fired down four aces, won 82 per cent of his first serves, hit six winners and made just five unforced errors, while Karatsev's unforced-error count hit 19.
But just as Dimitrov – who had not dropped a set en route to the quarters – looked like the man to beat, he wilted in remarkable scenes as Karatsev won the second set to level the match.
Dimitrov's first-serve winners dipped to 69 per cent – his second serve extremely problematic – while his unforced errors grew to 15 in the second set – and Karatsev took advantage.
The third set was a write-off for Dimitrov, who headed to the locker room for medical treatment after Karatsev cruised to a two-sets-to-love lead.
There were remarkable scenes in the third set, Dimitrov virtually conceding as he was unable to keep up with Karatsev due to the injury.
Dimitrov, who only won 12 points in the third set as he was unable to keep up with Karatsev or generate any power on his serve, emerged for the fourth set but, while he tried to will himself on, it only delayed the inevitable in sad scenes.
Data Slam: Karatsev joins Russian club
Karatsev became the fourth Russian man to reach the Australian Open semis in the Open Era, after Aleksandar Metreveli (1972), Yevgeny Kafelnikov (1999-2000) and Marat Safin (2002, 2004-05). He is also the lowest-ranked man to reach the semi-finals of a major since Goran Ivanisevic (125) at Wimbledon in 2001.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Dimitrov – 21/34
Karatsev – 34/44
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Dimitrov – 9/7
Karatsev – 9/6
BREAK POINTS WON
Dimitrov – 4/14
Karatsev – 8/11
Alcaraz: Stopping world's best Sinner not easy in Madrid
Carlos Alcaraz considers "dangerous" Jannik Sinner as the world's best player and the man to beat at the Madrid Open.
Sinner has won three titles in 2024, including his maiden grand slam crown at the Australian Open, and is the top seed in the Spanish capital.
Novak Djokovic is absent from the Masters 1000 tournament but will remain the top men's player regardless of how far Sinner advances.
And while the Italian's only appearance on clay this year saw him lose to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters, Alcaraz knows full well what he is up against should the pair cross paths.
"He's dangerous. He's the best player in the world right now," Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament news conference.
"I think [some people] think his tennis doesn't suit well to the clay, but he has had results on clay as well.
"He can win every tournament he goes to, and obviously I'm fighting with him and with Novak to be world number one. I'm trying to stay there, but honestly it is going to be difficult."
World number three Alcaraz was unable to compete in Monte-Carlo, as well as the Barcelona Open, due to an arm injury.
However, the Spaniard is relishing the chance of returning to clay-court action on home soil when his pursuit of a 14th Tour-level title begins against either Arthur Rinderknech or Alexander Shevchenko on Saturday.
"For me, it's really important to be at 100 per cent here in this tournament," he said. "Playing here is so special.
"It's the tournament where a lot of family can come to watch my matches, a lot of friends as well, and for me it's really special to play in front of my home crowd as well.
"I would love to play at 100 per cent just to give them the opportunity to enjoy my tennis and give myself the chance to get a good result here."
Alcaraz is aiming to become the first player to win three successive Madrid Open crowns and is on a collision course to meet Sinner in the final.
The 20-year-old ended Sinner's winning streak with victory in their BNP Paribas Open final showdown last month, with that a rare blemish for the latter.
While Sinner has been the best male player this year, boasting a record of 25 wins to two losses, he believes there is still room for improvement.
"I don't want to put pressure on myself," he told reporters ahead of the tournament. "I'm living a very positive moment, winning a lot of matches.
"I just try to keep going like this. In my mind, I know that I can and have to improve if I want to win more.
"I am searching for new opportunities and I feel like that every tournament I play, there can be a good opportunity trying to show that my level has raised.
"Showing what I have improved and that's for sure something that I would like to do here. This is a new opportunity, new tournament and we'll see how it goes."
Arteta hails Arsenal resilience as crucial Chelsea clash looms
Mikel Arteta has praised Arsenal for showing resilience during a difficult period and described his players as a "joy to work with" ahead of a crucial week in the Premier League title race.
All three title contenders – Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City – are in action twice this week, with the Gunners taking on Chelsea and Tottenham in two huge London derbies.
They returned to the top of the table with Saturday's 2-0 win over injury-hit Wolves, but with City possessing a game in hand, the destination of the trophy remains out of their hands.
Following a difficult few days in which Arsenal surrendered control of the title race and exited the Champions League against Bayern Munich, Arteta was delighted with their response at Molineux.
"If you look at the amount of games we have played in the last few weeks, the type of games we have played, their effort is unquestionable and the results are something else," Arteta said.
"It's a joy to work with them, and it makes us realise we want to be involved in the big competitions, fighting for the Champions League, fighting for the Premier League with the level that it requires."
Chelsea's ambitions, meanwhile, are limited to securing qualification for either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League, with their hopes of silverware being dashed on Saturday.
They were guilty of spurning several golden opportunities in their 1-0 defeat to City at Wembley Stadium, with their wait for a first trophy under the Todd Boehly regime being extended.
Mauricio Pochettino, though, is choosing to take the positives from that game as the Blues bid to draw level with Newcastle United and Manchester United in the table on Tuesday.
"Now we need to take the positive things from the game," Pochettino said. "This group of players needs these types of moments and games.
"Now is the time to finish the season in the best way and then see how we can do better next season."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal – Leandro Trossard
Trossard scored in October's reverse fixture as Arsenal fought back from 2-0 down to clinch a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, and he has provided an invaluable source of goals from the left wing in recent games, with Gabriel Jesus struggling.
The former Brighton and Hove Albion man is enjoying his most prolific Premier League campaign, with nine goals, and only Bukayo Saka (14) has netted more for the Gunners this term.
Chelsea – Nicolas Jackson
Jackson missed several clear-cut chances as Chelsea failed to make the breakthrough against City at Wembley on Saturday, and he is perhaps running out of chances to show he can be the Blues' long-term solution in that number nine role.
Jackson's 10 Premier League goals this season have come from a total of 13.98 expected goals (xG), giving him an underperformance of -3.98. Only Dominic Calvert Lewin (-5.98) and Darwin Nunez (-4.1) have underperformed their underlying numbers by a greater margin.
MATCH PREDICTION – ARSENAL WIN
Arsenal have only lost one of their last eight Premier League games against Chelsea (five wins, two draws), going unbeaten through their last four against them. That is their longest such streak versus the Blues since they went 19 matches against them without defeat between 1995 and 2005.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games (four wins, four draws) and have scored multiple goals in each of their last six. However, that run could come to a halt at the Emirates, with Arsenal possessing a strong record in the biggest games this term.
City and Liverpool have already left north London defeated this season, and Arsenal have not lost back-to-back home Premier League games since April 2022. Chelsea should be competitive, but the Gunners cannot afford to miss this chance to pull clear of their rivals.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Arsenal 51%
Chelsea 22.5%
Draw 26.5%
Boris Becker ‘working hard with the authorities’ to return to Wimbledon in 2025
Boris Becker says he is “working hard with the authorities” to return to the UK and Wimbledon in 2025.
The three-time Wimbledon men’s singles champion was deported from the UK in December 2022 after serving eight months of a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for hiding £2.5m of assets and loans in a bankruptcy fraud case.
Becker cannot return to the UK until October 2024 at the earliest following his deportation, but the 56-year-old German plans to return to the tournament he says is “in my DNA” as soon as possible.
“Wimbledon has been my favourite tournament as a player, coach and commentator,” Becker said at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid.
“It’s unique, you can’t compare it.
“I lived in Wimbledon a long time so I’m working hard with the authorities to have all the applications ready to be back for next year. We’re working on 2025.
“It’s a part of my life. It’s in my DNA, you can’t deny that.”
Asked if he would be back in the Wimbledon commentary box, Becker replied: “I hope so.”
Becker has not been involved in tennis since stepping down as Holger Rune’s head coach at the start of February.
The pair spent less than four months together, but in that time the 20-year-old qualified for the ATP finals in Italy.
::The 25th Laureus World Sports Awards take place on Monday evening in Madrid. To find out more, and follow the ceremony, visit www.laureus.com
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