“Karatsev had a stellar year before last, but then they didn’t know him and didn’t tune in to him” – Petrova

Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov proved to be a tough nut to crack for Russian Aslan Karatsev at the Australian Open, says 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Nadezhda Petrova.

Karatsev lost to Dimitrov (6:7; 5:7; 2:6) in the first round of the Australian Open.

– Grigor is a responsible guy, he has been playing for a long time and shows good results. Aslan had a stellar year before last, when he surprised everyone and was on horseback. But then he was a beginner for all the opponents, they did not know him and did not tune in to him, because he was low in the rankings.

With his emotions, desire and fast game, he surprised everyone, he played close to the court, everything worked out for him – everyone was dumbfounded.

But last year was important, because I had to confirm points. Now Aslan is not as high in the rankings as before, and he has an equal balance in tournaments – he has almost the same number of wins and losses.

They got used to him, he wiped himself on the tour and shows the tennis that he is capable of. But Grigor turned out to be a tough nut to crack for him,” Petrova told Gazeta.Ru.