Aslan Karatsev struggling with jetlag but hoping to win 'special tournament' Moscow
Tennis Interviews
Russian tennis star Aslan Karatsev has revealed that he has been dealing with a jetlag since arriving to Moscow but on Thursday it didn't affect him against Egor Gerasimov. Karatsev, seeded at No. 2, had a first round bye in Moscow.
On Thursday, home favorite Karatsev saw off qualifier Gerasimov 6-3 6-3 to reach the Moscow quarterfinal. Karatsev flew from Indian Wells to Moscow. "It's quite difficult [to adjust]. The first two days I wasn't able to sleep on time.
I was waking up at 2 a.m. and then I tried to sleep again. I'd fall asleep at 7, get a few hours more from 7 to 10 and then during the day I told myself not to sleep," Karatsev told ATPTour.com. "The first day I couldn't manage it, I fell asleep early in the day.
Then the second day I got better, and then today I feel more or less fine. [It's] just getting better day by day."
Karatsev already having his best-ever run in Moscow
In previous four main draw appearances in Moscow, Karatsev never made it past the round-of-16.
Karatsev has already been through to the quarterfinal and he is certainly hoping to win it all this week. "To play here with the home crowd, it's something special. I've played many, many times, passing qualies," Karatsev said.
"It's not like every tournament you play during the year. You have a lot of friends [and] family come here to watch you. It makes it special." Karatsev made a good start to the match against Gerasimov, having claimed the first break of the match in the third game.
Karatsev missed out on his first set point in the ninth game but he served out for the opener in the 10th game. After winning the first set, Karatsev broke Gerasimov in the opening game of the second set. Karatsev earned his third break of the match in the ninth game to complete a straight-set win.