Published: 16 January 2022
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Rising Russian player ends Scot's comeback campaign and withstands rowdy crowd to dominate the final
ASLAN KARATSEV DOMINATED Andy Murray, and overcame a rowdy Scottish support squad, to win the Sydney Classic tennis tournament last night.
The Jewish and Israeli-bred top seed, who left Israel as a teenager to further his career in Russia, underlined his remarkable rise through world rankings over the past year to completely outclass the British veteran, who is making a comeback after a crippling hip injury.
Karatsev won 6-3 6-3 and was the dominant player throughout the 90-minute match, often making Murray look tired and ineffective as he overpowered the Scot from the baseline, and scorched forehand winners down the line with Murray looking on helpless.
It was the third career title for Karatsev, 28, who launched himself on to the world’s tennis stage a year ago when he made the semi-finals of the Australian Open, as an unknown qualifier, ranked 114 in the world.
He enter this year’s event ranked 18 in the world and in tremendous form. His serve against Murray was penetrating and won him many free points; his backhand was solid and deep.
Karatsev was composed when Murray held several break points against him midway through the second set and overcame a double-fault wobble on match point to seal victory a few points later.
In addition to facing Murray last night, Karatsev also overcame a passionate and colourful crowd who tried to rally their Scottish hero, something the Russian would not have faced very often during his ascendancy this past year, when crowds would have been thin at big-name matches due to Covid restrictions.
It was suggested that the absence of crowds, in the first wave of Covid, was a key ingredient that helped Karatsev play with the confidence to reach a higher level of performance last year.
If that was a factor, last night‘s victory, which earned him his third title in 12 months, showed he has moved beyond the outsider mindset and is now comfortable playing on the big stage.
The Jewish Independent bumped into Karatsev's fitness coach, Luis Lopes, holding the trophy at Melbourne airport while waiting for his luggage, and asked him for the secret behind his player's performance during the past year.
Lopes said he decided last year, during Covid, that "it was now or never", after a frustrating run of injuries that had held him him back in his early twenties.
"Aslan was ranked 150 in the world when he was 21; he was part of the next gen of Russian players after Marat Safin and Nicolai Davydenko. He just started to believe in himself again."
The Australian Open in Melbourne will show how far his self-belief can take him.
Photo: Aslan Karatsev with Andy Murray after winning the Sydney Classic (AAP/Dan Himbrechts)
