“I want to be in the Top-10!” Aslan Karatsev REVEALS his goals for 2022 season ahead of the Maharashtra Open
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Aslan Karatsev
Aslan Karatsev had a breakthrough 2021 season. He reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and only lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. This was a dream run for the Russian, who couldn’t even get past the qualifying rounds of any of the Grand Slams in the previous seasons.
He also helped Russia clinch the Davis Cup title and won a silver medal in mixed doubles with Elena Vesnina, at the Tokyo Olympics. With this, he finished his year in the top-20 of the ATP rankings, a huge improvement from his rank (118) at the end of 2020.
Karatsev started his 2022 season in a similar fashion, he won the ATP Sydney International in the lead-up to the Australian Open by defeating two-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray in the finals. However, the Russian couldn’t replicate his last year’s exploits at the Australian Open and was knocked out in the third round to unseeded Adrian Mannarino in four sets.
Karatsev’s form in the first two rounds at Melbourne was a matter of concern as well, he needed 5 sets to win his first-round and another four in his next round. In both his matches, the Russian was error-prone and had more unforced errors compared to winners. He will be looking to improve his form as he enters his third tournament of the year, at the ATP Maharashtra Open this week.
Aslan Karatsev talks about his goals for the 2022 season
Aslan Karatsev was asked about his goals for this season, in a press conference, ahead of his match at the Maharashtra Open in Pune. He said that he wants to break into the Top 10 this season.
“I had some goals to achieve this season, Top-15 and then Top-10. Want to improve my game, there were a few things that I was working on the pre-season,” he said.
He added: “I’m very happy to be here. Coming from the Australian Open, almost the same weather conditions here. When you are a top seed obviously it gives some advantage that you skip the first match but also sometimes playing the first match helps you get that rhythm.”
The Russian is the top seed and is the favorite to win the tournament. He received a bye in the opening round and will face the winner of Elias Ymer and Gian Marco Moroni in the second round.
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T Rushitha
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