The Greek defeated Jiri Lehecka in three sets and the Russian did not finish his match against Sebastian Korda, injured his right wrist
The main players of the first semifinal of the 2023 Australian Open have already been confirmed. Stefanos Tsisipas and Karen Khachanov will compete for a place in the final of the first Grand Slam of the year, which will be played this Sunday at Rod Laver Arena.
The Greek tennis player defeated the young Czech Jiri Lehecka in his quarterfinal match, a surprise for the men’s team, and left Cameron Norrie and Auger-Aliassime in previous rounds. The Athenian won in three sets (6-3, 7-6 and 6-4), to reach his fourth semi-final in Melbourne.
His rival will be the Russian Karen Khachanov, who will reach the semi-finals after the withdrawal of Sebastian Korda and has been bothering his right wrist since the second set. During the match, Khachanov was superior and won the first and second sets with brilliant play and wonderful serve. In the third, 3-0 in favor of the Russian, Korda decided to end the match due to his injury. Second consecutive semifinal for Khachanov, who already reached these times in the last US Open, losing to Casper Ruud in four sets.
Tsitsipas and Khachanov know each other very well. They have met five times and the Russian has never been able to beat the Greek, holding a 5-0 record to him. The Athenian will also start as a clear favorite in the semi-finals in Australia and with the dual aim of reaching his first major and finishing as number one in the world. If the Russian won, he would achieve his best result at a Grand Slam and be in the ‘top 10’ of the ATP ranking.
Victoria Azarenka signed for the surprise of the day by beating Jessica Pegula, the number three in the ranking, in the quarterfinals (6-4 and 6-1). The 33-year-old Belarusian already has two Australian Opens to her name and is looking for her third trophy in Melbourne.
In the other quarter-final match of the day, Elena Rybakina beat Latvian Jelena Ostapenko (6-2, 6-4), executioner of the world number one, to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. The Kazakh also has a Grand Slam in her showcase, in particular she won the last Wimbledon tournament, so a very even match is expected.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
