Who is Aslan Karatsev?? From Qualifying to Semi- Finalist at the Australian Open

In one word: unstoppable! The 114th ranked player in the world is currently making waves in the tennis world with his run at this years Australian Open. He is one of the few and maybe the ONLY ONE to win their way through the qualifying to the semi finals of a grand slam.

In 2020, on the ATP Challenger level he accomplished:

- Tour-leading 27 match wins

- 18-2 record since the restart in August

- Titles in Prague II and Ostrava

- Fourth-biggest mover to year-end Top 150 (UP 158 spots)

Karatsev, 27, was born in Russia and moved to Israel when he was 3. His maternal grandfather is Jewish. He then returned to Russia for his teenage years to pursue better tennis training. That began a meandering journey back and forth across Europe, with stops in Moscow, Germany, Spain and Belarus, where he has been training for three years (New York Times)

Named after the famous all mighty lion from "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" (probably), Aslan looks to be amongst the elite Russians that have already made an impression on the ATP Tour (Medvedev and Rublev). Beating the likes of Schwartzman, Dimitrov, and Felix Auger Aliassime, Aslan looks to continue his success against the Number 1 player in the world, Novak Djokovic.