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Patna : World No 42 Aslan Karatsev, 27, upset 2nd seed Andrey Rublev, 23, in a three-set battle in an all Russian semi-finals in Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, an ATP 500 event, at Dubai, UAE, on March 19, 2021, late night, to reach the final of the tournament. Karatdev beat World No 8 Andrey Rublev 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in 2 hrs 12 minutes to move into the final at the event.
Karatsev, who had reached Australian Open semi-finals in February 2021, won 4 break points during the match to 2 by Rublev. He also won 5 games in a row to 3 by Rublev. Karatsev though committed 6 double faults in the match to 2 by Rublev. Karatsev, in all, won 101 points during the match to 90 by Rublev. Karatsev fired 7 Aces in the match to 5 by his opponent.
Karatsev will face qualifier Lloyd Harris in final at 8.30 pm on March 20, 2021. Harris had stunned 3rd seed & World No 12 Denis Shapovalov, 21, Canada, in first semi-finals on March 19, 2021.