Australian Open 2021 is treating fans with some high-quality tennis. We’ve enjoyed some great matches in the past week, and qualifier Aslan Karatsev is currently on a Cinderella run in the tournament.

The Russian outclassed Grigor Dimitrov to become the first player in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals on his Grand Slam debut! 

The quarterfinal clash between Dimitrov and Karatsev was an underrated one. These two guys had surpassed massive challenges in the previous rounds to get to the last-eight, and it was Karatsev, who marched forward by pulling off an upset against Dimitrov. 

Dimitrov enjoyed a wonderful run at Australian Open 2021, right until Tuesday. The Bulgarian was expected to pose a massive challenge after getting the better of Dominic Thiem in the fourth round, but his stay was cut short by Aslan Karatsev. 

Grigor Dimitrov cites back injury as the reason behind loss 

Dimitrov won the first set 6-2 but lost control over his serve as the game progressed. Karatsev capitalized on his opponent’s shortcomings, but Dimitrov later revealed what made him fall short of the finish line at Rod Laver Arena. 

“I just got a back spasm yesterday, out of the blue. I couldn’t put my socks on before the match, so I knew it was going to be a tough moment,” Dimitrov reflected on the loss. 

A back spasm is indeed a worrying sign before a crucial match. Dimitrov revealed that lack of fitness prevented him from giving 100%, but people might question why he risked playing in the first place. 

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“Adrenaline,” Dimitrov expressed. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in the quarterfinals. I felt great, I didn’t see any of that coming. I actually don’t know what else to say. It sucks,” a visibly frustrated Dimitrov said. 

No one saw the 6-4, 4-6, 1-6, 2-6 loss coming for Dimitrov. In fact, the Bulgarian was quite confident with his game at Australian Open 2021 since he hadn’t dropped a set prior to the quarterfinals. 

But that’s just the unfortunate luck that prevailed for Dimitrov this time around. The World No. 21 was in sublime form, and he would be dejected about crashing out before making a second semi-final appearance at Melbourne. 

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