Last year at Roland Garros, Aslan Karatsev was outside the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings and he fell in the third round of qualifying. This edition, however, the Russian arrived in Paris as the breakthrough star of the season, and he showed why on Tuesday.
Karatsev defeated #NextGenATP American Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 59 minutes to reach the second round, facing just one break point in his victory. The 24th seed will next play one of two veterans: German Philipp Kohlschreiber or Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
"I never saw him before. But I heard that he won a couple of Challengers in a row. He passed qualies," Karatsev said. "For me the main target was just to start to feel more the game, to get the rhythm, and to close it as fast as possible."
At the first Grand Slam of the season, Karatsev made his mark with a dream run to the semi-finals as a qualifier. He will no longer catch anyone by surprise, though. The 27-year-old is seventh in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, putting himself in contention for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals in November.
Karatsev has backed up his Melbourne breakthrough with impressive results since, including his first ATP Tour title in Dubai, where he defeated Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner along the way.
The Russian faced few difficulties against Brooksby, a qualifier who has lifted three ATP Challenger Tour trophies this year. Karatsev played a clean, aggressive match, crushing 34 winners to just 20 unforced errors to keep the American from finding a way into the match. Fans saw what he is capable of with his powerful game on hard courts, and the Russian showed he is comfortable on clay, too.
"I think I [can] play [on] all surfaces. I like to play on clay [so] that you have to really build a point. It takes you a long time. It's not about just the serve," Karatsev said. "Clay you mostly play with a long rally, you have to build up the point. I like it. I like it. I don't have any preference. I mean, I [can] play also on hard court, I think I play well. And when the time comes to play on clay, I prepare myself for clay."
Brooksby earned his lone service break in the third set, but the 24th seed quickly responded and closed out the match in straight sets. Last year at Roland Garros, fans might not have recognised him. But as he departed Court 8, the small group of fans in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions shouted “Aslan!” in the hopes of getting a selfie from the stands. Karatsev isn't letting the hype distract him, though.
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"I'm just focusing to practise, to recover well, and to be ready for my next opponent," Karatsev said. "The people around, they text me a lot, and there is a lot of talking around. But I try to focus on my job and to do the
Karatsev defeated #NextGenATP American Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 59 minutes to reach the second round, facing just one break point in his victory. The 24th seed will next play one of two veterans: German Philipp Kohlschreiber or Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
"I never saw him before. But I heard that he won a couple of Challengers in a row. He passed qualies," Karatsev said. "For me the main target was just to start to feel more the game, to get the rhythm, and to close it as fast as possible."
At the first Grand Slam of the season, Karatsev made his mark with a dream run to the semi-finals as a qualifier. He will no longer catch anyone by surprise, though. The 27-year-old is seventh in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, putting himself in contention for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals in November.
Karatsev has backed up his Melbourne breakthrough with impressive results since, including his first ATP Tour title in Dubai, where he defeated Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner along the way.
The Russian faced few difficulties against Brooksby, a qualifier who has lifted three ATP Challenger Tour trophies this year. Karatsev played a clean, aggressive match, crushing 34 winners to just 20 unforced errors to keep the American from finding a way into the match. Fans saw what he is capable of with his powerful game on hard courts, and the Russian showed he is comfortable on clay, too.
"I think I [can] play [on] all surfaces. I like to play on clay [so] that you have to really build a point. It takes you a long time. It's not about just the serve," Karatsev said. "Clay you mostly play with a long rally, you have to build up the point. I like it. I like it. I don't have any preference. I mean, I [can] play also on hard court, I think I play well. And when the time comes to play on clay, I prepare myself for clay."
Brooksby earned his lone service break in the third set, but the 24th seed quickly responded and closed out the match in straight sets. Last year at Roland Garros, fans might not have recognised him. But as he departed Court 8, the small group of fans in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions shouted “Aslan!” in the hopes of getting a selfie from the stands. Karatsev isn't letting the hype distract him, though.
Follow Live Scores At RolandGarros.com
"I'm just focusing to practise, to recover well, and to be ready for my next opponent," Karatsev said. "The people around, they text me a lot, and there is a lot of talking around. But I try to focus on my job and to do the
things in the right moments."
Elsewhere on Tuesday, 10th seed Diego Schwartzman ended a four-match losing streak by comfortably overcoming Yen-Hsun Lu, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to advance to round two in Paris.
The 28-year-old, who holds a 12-10 record this year, won the title on clay at the Argentina Open (d. F Cerundolo) in March to become the first Argentine champion at the event since David Nalbandian in 2008 (d. Acasuso). Schwartzman reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year (l. to Nadal), and will next face Aljaz Bedene, who defeated Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Did You Know?
Karatsev made his first clay-court ATP Final in Belgrade this year, and in 2020 he won two ATP Challenger Tour titles on the surface.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, 10th seed Diego Schwartzman ended a four-match losing streak by comfortably overcoming Yen-Hsun Lu, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to advance to round two in Paris.
The 28-year-old, who holds a 12-10 record this year, won the title on clay at the Argentina Open (d. F Cerundolo) in March to become the first Argentine champion at the event since David Nalbandian in 2008 (d. Acasuso). Schwartzman reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year (l. to Nadal), and will next face Aljaz Bedene, who defeated Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Did You Know?
Karatsev made his first clay-court ATP Final in Belgrade this year, and in 2020 he won two ATP Challenger Tour titles on the surface.