Madrid Open: Aslan Karatsev ends Zhang Zhizhen's run to reach semifinals

Madrid [Spain], May 4 : Aslan Karatsev reached his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final at the Madrid Open on Thursday when he outclassed China's Zhang Zhizhen 7-6(3), 6-4 at the Manolo Santana Stadium.

Karatsev became the second qualifier to advance to the last four in tournament history. The qualifier will aim to continue his run when he takes on fourth-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas or German lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff in the semi-finals.

In a fascinating matchup between two first-time Masters 1000 quarterfinalists, Karatsev was the one who maintained composure in crucial situations at the Manolo Santana Stadium. After one hour and forty minutes, the 29-year-old won after saving all three break points he faced in the first set and putting on a clean-hitting performance in the second set.

In Madrid, where he defeated top seeds Botic van de Zandschulp, Alex de Minaur, and Dil Medvedev, Karatsev has found his best form again after falling as low as No. 129 in the ATP Rankings on April 17.

Karatsev has moved up to No. 51 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings after his ninth tour-level victory of the year.

"I am happy with my condition. Back to the top level. Playing well and feeling well. From the qualifying, match by match, it has got harder, so mentally you have to be there more. Because your opponent doesn't give you any free points so you have to be there yourself. The important thing is now to recover well," ATP.com quoted Karatsev as saying.

Karatsev, a former World No. 14, has a track record of delivering on the big stage. He beat seeds Diego Schwartzman, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Grigor Dimitrov at the 2021 Australian Open to become the first player to advance to the semifinals on his Grand Slam debut.

"I started the year inside the Top 100 then I dropped and lost some matches. You have to keep going and believe and I have a team behind me that is always supporting me and believing in me," Karatsev said.