MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. Russia's Aslan Karatsev defeated Australia's Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament in Tokyo.

The match ended 6-3, 6-2 in favor of Karatsev, who is unseeded at the tournament. De Minaur was ranked fourth. In the semifinals, Karatsev will play against the winner of the match between Australian Alexey Popyrin (unseeded) and Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki, who received a special wild card invitation from the tournament organizers. The other semifinal will feature two Americans - Ben Shelton (unseeded) and Marcos Giron, who reached the main draw after qualifying.

Karatsev, 30, is ranked 50th in the ATP rankings. The Russian has three tour victories to his credit. His best result at a Grand Slam was reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2021. At the Olympics in Tokyo, Karatsev paired with Yelena Vesnina to win the silver medal in mixed doubles. In 2021, he won the Davis Cup and the ATP Cup as a member of the Russian team.

De Minaur, 24, is the 13th-ranked player in the world. The Australian has seven titles under the auspices of the organization. His best result on the Grand Slam circuit was making it to the quarterfinals of the US Open in 2020. In 2022, he reached the Davis Cup final as a member of the Australian team.

The hard-court tournament belongs to the ATP 500 category. The total prize fund is over $1.85 mln. The reigning champion is American Taylor Fritz, who lost in the second round of this year’s competition to the 215th-ranked Mochizuki. Russians have historically enjoyed good success here in Tokyo, with Daniil Medvedev notably winning the competition in 2018.