Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev, world No 114, is the first man to reach the last eight on his Grand Slam debut since Alex Radulescu at Wimbledon in 1996; 27-year-old to face former world No 3 Grigor Dimitrov next
Sunday 14 February 2021 10:55, UK
Third seed Dominic Thiem is out of the Australian Open after a straight-sets defeat to a resurgent Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.
The third seed and US Open champion battled back from two sets down to beat Nick Kyrgios on Friday but appeared devoid of energy in a 6-4 6-4 6-0 defeat on Sunday.
Dimitrov will face Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev, who came from two sets down to beat Canadian 20th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and reach the last eight on his Grand Slam debut.
Thiem, last year's finalist, took an early 3-1 lead in the opening two sets only for 18th seed Dimitrov to charge back at him and clinch both.
Dimitrov eased through the third set, breaking his out-of-sorts Austrian opponent seven times in total during the match before a subdued celebration from the Bulgarian.
Thiem said he was suffering from some physical issues but did not want to elaborate as he dismissed suggestions his performance was a result of the emotional fallout from his victory against Kyrgios.
"Well, [I have] some little physical issues," Thiem said in his post-match press conference. "I don't want to go closer to them. I don't want to find any excuses.
"But the thing also is that I'm also not a machine. I mean, sometimes I would like to be, but there are really, really bad days.
"As soon as you're not a hundred per cent there on the court on this level, then results like this come up, and that's exactly what happened today."
Earlier, Auger-Aliassime appeared set to register a routine victory after winning the first two sets, but world No 114 Karatsev rallied to record a 3-6 1-6 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory and continue his impressive run at Melbourne Park.
Karatsev, who knocked out eighth seed Diego Schwartzman in the third round, is just the seventh man in the Open Era to reach the last eight on his Grand Slam debut and the first since Alex Radulescu at Wimbledon in 1996.
"It was really difficult in the beginning to play with him. He's a really good player and was playing really fast and it took me two sets to find my rhythm," said Karatsev.
"I put everything into this match and I'm really happy."
Karatsev, one of three Russians alongside Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev who reached the last 16 this year, had failed on nine previous occasions to qualify for the main draw of a Grand Slam.
The 27-year-old proved the more consistent in the first five-setter of his career as the unforced errors mounted for the 20-year-old Auger-Aliassime, who was also bidding to reach the last eight at a Grand Slam for the first time.
A forehand crosscourt winner from Karatsev sealed victory on his first match point.
Karatsev is also the lowest-ranked man to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals since Patrick McEnroe did so in 1991, also as world No 114.
Ahead of facing Karetsev for the first time, Dimitrov said: "It takes time for everyone to get to somewhere, but the best part is that you treat every player the same way, and I will treat this match with no difference.
"Clearly in order for him to be here he's done something right, and he's playing great tennis right now. Of course, he's a dangerous player."
Meanwhile, Briton Neal Skupski partnered Slovenia's Andreja Klepac to beat Australian duo John Peers and Belinda Woolcock 6-2 5-7 (12-10) in a match tie-break in the first round of the mixed doubles.
Britain's Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid reached the semi-finals of the men's wheelchair singles.
Reid recovered back from a set down to beat second seed Gustavo Fernandez 5-7 6-4 6-4, while Hewett overcame Frenchman Nicolas Peifer 7-5 6-3.
In the quad singles, second seed Andy Lapthorne beat American David Wagner 6-1 6-4 in the quarter-finals.
But Lucy Shuker lost to Japan's Momoko Ohtani in the women's wheelchair singles.
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