MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Aslan Karatsev became the first man in the Open Era (since 1968) to reach the semifinals of the debut Grand Slam tournament in the status of the qualifier after his quarterfinals win on Tuesday at the 2021 Australian Open.

Playing earlier in the day against Bulgaria’s 18th-seed Grigor Dimitrov, the 27-year-old Russian managed to defeat his opponent in 2 hours and 32 minutes with the final score of 2-6; 6-4; 6-1; 6-2.

"Of course, it’s [an] unbelievable feeling … first time playing main draw, first time [making] semis, it’s incredible," the tournament’s official website quoted Karatsev as saying after the match.

"It was really tough from the beginning for me to hold the nerves … I tried to find a way and then in the third he felt the back," he said.

By the end of the second set Dimitrov sustained an injury and took a medical time-out for off-court treatment before the start of the fourth set.

Karatsev is now set to face in the semifinals the winner of Tuesday night’s quarterfinals clash between World’s No. 1 and eight-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Germany’s 5th-seed Alexander Zverev.

"I try not to think about it, I try to play every match going from match to match," Karatsev, who is currently ranked as World’s No. 114, said speaking about his possible opponent in the semifinals.

Before making his historic semifinals debut at the Grand Slam tournament, Karatsev had only three ATP-level victories since 2015. He is now also the first Russian to reach the Australian Open semifinals after Marat Safin in 2005.

The 2021 Australian Open tournament is played at Melbourne Park between February 8 and 21. It offers $61 million in prize money. Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Sofia Kenin of the United States are the defending champions at the 2021 Australian Open in men's and women’s singles respectively.