Aslan Karatsev stuns Daniil Medvedev in Madrid Open fourth round
Aslan Karatsev caused an upset in the fourth round of the Madrid Open after knocking out second seed Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.
Karatsev notched up 27 winners to Medvedev’s eight en route to a 7-6(1), 6-4 victory to set up a meeting with China’s Zhang Zhizhen in what will be his maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarter final.
The win means Karatsev, currently ranked as world No. 121 but has climbed as high as No. 14, extended his record against Top 10 opponents to 6-7 and revealed the secret behind beating them is to stay ‘mentally tough’.
‘’I’m feeling great, playing well,” Karatsev said after he became just the fifth player to beat Medvedev this season.
“I just have to focus every match, so I will be prepared for the next one… [Against top players] you just concentrate more, you have to be 100 per cent, you have to focus more because they do not give you any free points.
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“You have to be consistent and mentally tough, so I think I’m doing well.’’
The Russian has now defeated three seeded players in a row, Botic van de Zandschulp, Alex de Minaur, and Medvedev, to reach the quarter finals and will jump up the rankings to No. 89 as a result.
Having dropped as low as No. 129 in the rankings last month, Karatsev revealed that his is now happy with his game and is looking forward to what happens next.
‘’I was struggling last year, but I've improved in the middle of this year," Karatsev added.
"I’m really happy with my game [now], so we’ll see what [happens next].’’
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