Qualifier Aslan Karatsev continued his stunning run into the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday, beating an ailing Grigor Dimitrov 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 to become the first man in the open era to reach the last four in his maiden grand slam.

The world No 114 was also only the fifth qualifier to reach the last four of a men’s major in the open era and the lowest-ranked player to reach the semi-final of a major for two decades.

The Russian, whose success at getting into the Australian Open came on his 10th attempt to qualify for a grand slam, will meet eight-times champion Novak Djokovic or Alexander Zverev for a place in the final.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling, first time main draw, first time semis,” said the 27-year-old, whose victory was marked only by canned applause with fans still banned from Melbourne Park because of a five-day coronavirus lockdown.

Karatsev confessed to battling with nerves at the start of the contest on Rod Laver Arena and his error-prone first set was indeed forgettable.

He had battled back from two sets down to beat Felix Auger Aliassime in the fourth round, however, and soon tightened up his game to storm back into the match in the second stanza.

Dimitrov looked shell-shocked as Karatsev pounded howitzer shots over the net at him – faltering on serve and wandering around the court listlessly in the 30-degree heat.

The 29-year-old Bulgarian took a medical timeout for treatment on his back after losing the third set but was only able to show flashes of his refined game in the fourth and at one point apologised to his box.

Karatsev showed no mercy to his hampered opponent and broke the 18th seed twice to take a comfortable lead, sealing his place in the last four when Dimitrov flapped a backhand into the net./Guardian