‘You feel privileged yourself,’ Aslan Karatsev on winning the same trophy Federer, Djokovic and Nadal have previously won

‘You feel privileged yourself,’ Aslan Karatsev on winning the same trophy Federer, Djokovic and Nadal have previously won

Aslan Karatsev

Aslan Karatsev has had a fairytale 2021 season so far! The Russian came as a qualifier in the Australian Open 2021, his first grand slam main draw appearance and reached the semi-final, losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

Karatsev reached a major career milestone on Saturday, as he defeated Lloyd Harris to clinch his maiden ATP tour title. During the press conference, he was asked how he felt about joining the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on the elusive list of champions at Dubai.

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer

The trio of Roger, Rafa and Nole have had their fair share of success in Doha. Federer leads the charge, being an eight time champion at the ATP 500 event. The current world no.1 Novak Djokovic has won the Dubai crown 5 times.

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Nadal, meanwhile, has not participated at the Dubai event as frequently as his other two rivals. He mostly played at Acapulco around the same time as Dubai. The Spaniard won his lone title at Dubai 2006, when he defeated then World No. 1 Roger Federer in the final.

Aslan Karatsev praises his young Russian team-mates

Aslan Karatsev
Aslan Karatsev

In the post-match press conference, Karatsev spoke in lengths about the ‘Big 3’.

“Yeah of course, I’m super happy to win these kind of tournaments specially ATP 500s, specially here in Dubai,” Karatsev said.

“Of course with big names like that, you feel privileged yourself, and with your performance. I’m really happy with my game this week, so I’m happy.”

Karatsev was also asked how he felt about being part of a strong group of Russian players on tour – a group that includes Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and himself. Medvedev is the current world no.2 while Rublev is also ranked inside the top 10.

“Yeah I’m really happy to go close to the top players,” the Russian said.

“You have more motivation when you see these young players playing really fantastic tennis. Medvedev is No. 2, he’s (Rublev) No. 8. So you’re always looking forward to play better, so you can improve.”

Earlier, Aslan Karatsev defeated South African qualifier Lloyd Harris 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Dubai Championships for his first title on Saturday.

Also read: ‘Rafa,’ Dominic Thiem reveals whom he wants to be for a day