Karen Khachanov advanced to his second consecutive Grand Slam semi-final on Tuesday night after Sebastian Korda retired in the third set of their Australian Open matchup with a right-wrist injury. The 18th seed was leading 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-0 after winning seven straight games following a medical timeout for the American midway through set two.

Khachanov clinched a hard-fought opening set with a daring backhand winner, regrouping with a strong tie-break after failing to serve out the set at 5-3. He then saw three break points go begging early in the second as he stayed on top with his consistent baseline game.

“For sure, back-to-back semi-finals in a Grand Slam feels great,” Khachanov said in an on-court interview. “Obviously not the way you want to finish the match. I think until a certain point it was very competitive, a very good battle. Sebastian beat one of my friends, Daniil [Medvedev], in three sets and won in five sets against Hurkacz. He is playing great tennis.

“I’m feeling good, to be honest. I’m really happy about my level, about the way I compete, and looking forward to the semi-finals here in Australia for the first time.”

All respect between these guys 🤝@karenkhachanov • Sebastian Korda • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/7q3q3qI7ye

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2023

Korda received a medical timeout and had his wrist taped at 3-2 in the second set, and he struggled to control his forehand once he returned to the court in Rod Laver Arena as Khachanov quickly extended his lead.

By reaching the Melbourne quarters, Khachanov became the 10th active male player and the 50th in the Open Era to reach that stage at all four Grand Slams. He has now won his past two major quarter-finals after his run to the semis at the 2022 US Open.

“I think I kind of reinvented myself,” he said of his recent form, more than three years after he reached a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 8 in 2019. “I always believe in myself but there are always ups and downs, and sometimes when you have a great result it just shows you what you are capable of and then you start to believe more and more. This belief and self-confidence I think appeared much stronger after the US Open. I made a few semi-finals already so I hope to continue that way and to grow as a person and as a sportsman.”

Khachanov will seek his first Grand Slam final when he faces Stefanos Tsitsipas or Jiri Lehecka, with that quarter-final set for Tuesday evening in Rod Laver Arena.

Korda, playing in his first major quarter-final, was bidding to improve to 4-0 against Top 20 opponents at the Australian Open. Instead, he fell to 14-15 against such players in his tour-level career. The American is now on the brink of becoming a Top 20 player himself, as he has moved up six places this fortnight to No. 25 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up for a new career high.

Khachanov’s semi-final run has lifted him seven places to No. 13 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. He can rise as high as No. 7 with the title.

The ATP Head2Head between Khachanov and Korda is now level at 2-2, with both of Khachanov’s victories coming at majors, including a five-set win at Wimbledon in 2021.

After suffering a first-round defeat in the Australian Open qualifying, Alexander Shevchenko took the long trip from Melbourne to Tenerife to compete at the ATP Challenger Tour event on the Canary Island.

Although the journey may have been halfway across the world, it paid off as the 22-year-old didn’t drop a set all week en route to claiming the Tenerife Challenger 1, where he downed Austrian Sebastian Ofner 7-5, 6-2 in the final.

“The final was very tough,” Shevchenko said. “I had to go more aggressive and also had to win some points playing defence. A lot of fun emotions that I will remember for the rest of my career.”

Shevchenko is coached by Gunter Bresnik, who has worked with prominent players such as Boris Becker, Patrick McEnroe, Dominic Thiem, and Gael Monfils.

After claiming his maiden Challenger title in Bratislava this past season, Shevchenko was a two-time semi-finalist in the latter half of 2022 (Milan, Szczecin). The Challenger 100 title in Tenerife lifts him to a career-high No. 116 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

“I’m close [to the Top 100],” Shevchenko said. “But I’m not there, so I have to work hard from next week on, forget about this week, and start the new week.”

On the clay courts of Piracicaba, Andrea Collarini dispatched four of the Top-9 seeds, including World No. 102 Alejandro Tabilo, to win his first Challenger title since August 2019 (L’Aquila). The Argentine defeated Chilean Tomas Barrios Vera in the final 6-2, 7-6(1) to capture the Brasil Tennis Challenger.

“I can’t wait to celebrate with my wife and my family,” Collarini said. “I’m happy because I won a Challenger again. The last one was three years ago and this past year I reached two finals (Tigre-2, Vicenza) but I couldn’t win them. I’ve had good weeks and bad weeks. Now I’m happy because in those bad weeks I wondered if I would be able to win a tournament again, and I finally did.”

Andrea Collarini triumphs at the Brasil Tennis Challenger. Credit: João Pires

Following a record-setting 23 Challenger titles in 2022, players from Argentina are off to fast start to surpass their own milestone. Juan Manuel Cerundolo collected a pair of titles in the first two weeks of the season and now Collarini joins the fellow lefty as Argentine Challenger champions this month.

The title at the Challenger 75 event propels the 2010 Roland Garros boys’ singles finalist to a career-high 186 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

At the Bangkok Open 3, Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro collected his maiden Challenger crown. En route to title, the 25-year-old took down top seed James Duckworth and ended Frenchman Arthur Cazaux’s 13-match winning streak in the final 6-2, 7-5.

Shimabukuro is building upon his career-best season in 2022, when he made his Davis Cup debut in September and narrowly escaped former World No. 33 Denis Istomin. The following month, Gifu native advanced through qualifying to compete in his maiden Tour-level tournament, the ATP 500 event in Tokyo.

Sho Shimabukuro in action at the Bangkok Open 3. Credit: The Lawn Tennis Association Of Thailand

Novak Djokovic’s straight-sets win against Alex de Minaur on Monday answered some big questions related to the Serbian’s 2023 Australian Open title bid. Not just for those watching on as he dismantled the home favourite on Rod Laver Arena, but also for the nine-time champion himself.

“A week ago I didn’t really think about the title, I just thought about being in a good enough condition to play the next match,” acknowledged Djokovic after easing past De Minaur 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 in two hours and six minutes. “Until tonight. Tonight, the way I played, the way I felt, gives me reason now to believe that I can go all the way.”

Djokovic sustained a left hamstring injury en route to lifting his 92nd tour-level title at the Adelaide International 1 earlier this month, and he appeared to be affected by it at various times throughout the opening three rounds at Melbourne Park. That was not the case against De Minaur on Monday, when he moved with freedom throughout his imperious win.

“I always believe I can go all the way in terms of my tennis,” said the nine-time Australian Open titlist. “But the way my leg felt before tonight wasn’t giving me too many hopes, so to say, for the entire tournament, to go all the way through. Tonight, I feel that, so I feel positive about it.”

Djokovic delivered a near-flawless performance on Rod Laver Arena, with De Minaur later calling it ‘Novak very close to his best’. The 35-year-old, who will return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings should he lift the trophy in Melbourne, was reluctant to get too carried away with his display but acknowledged it as his best of a 2023 season in which he now holds a 9-0 record.

“I don’t know [if it was the best] ever, but definitely the best tennis I’ve played this year, this tournament, so far this season,” said Djokovic. “[The] best match. I’m really glad because obviously as the tournament progresses, the matches are going to get tougher. I’m really glad to manage to win the way I did tonight.”

Djokovic possesses by far the most Grand Slam experience of the eight players left in the draw at Melbourne Park. Aside from the Serbian, only 2021 Roland Garros finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas has reached the champiobnship match at a major, while Karen Khachanov is the only other player to have reached a semi-final. Yet the fourth seed is taking nothing for granted as he bids to draw level with Rafael Nadal’s record tally of 22 Grand Slam titles.

“Being the only guy remaining in the tournament that has won a Grand Slam, of course [that] flatters me, but I don’t think it’s going to make too big of a difference, to be honest,” said Djokovic. “Maybe it will to some extent for me, but maybe not for the other guys.

“I know Tsitsipas, for example, probably the most experienced guy out of all of them… He’s someone that looks ready to go for the title, and the way he has been playing, he’s been coming closer and closer.

“But you have the other guys, some young American guys, that are doing extremely well at this tournament. Anything is possible, I think. We’ll just have to take it day by day.”

To say Ben Shelton’s first trip outside of the United States has been a success would be an understatement.

When the American set off for Australia, he was stepping into the unknown. Fast forward one month and the 20-year-old is playing like a seasoned pro, with his victory against J.J. Wolf propelling him into the quarter-finals on debut at the Australian Open.

Speaking after his five-set win on Monday, Shelton admitted that his run in Melbourne has surpassed all expectations.

“[It is] definitely a surprise,” Shelton said. “I got on the plane with no expectations. I know that it’s very hard to adjust to Australia from the United States just with the jetlag, time change and everything. It being my first time, never being out of the United States, I knew it would be a struggle.

“But I think it has helped me a little bit having that expectation or the feeling that I have to perform, but being able to just go out there, be myself and play free. I think that’s been a big contribution to my success.”

One year ago, Shelton was No. 569 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and still in college at the University of Florida. The lefty was not yet in the top spot of his team’s lineup. Following his victory against Wolf, the 20-year-old is up to No. 43 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

“I feel great. It’s been a pretty special week for me,” said Shelton, who is still taking online college classes. “Definitely a lot on my plate, playing my first Grand Slam outside of the United States, starting school this week. It’s been a lot. But I’m really enjoying it so far.

“Each match that I’ve won here has felt the same. It’s a mixture of joy, relief. I just have that feeling of ecstasy. When the last ball lands, I did it. To be able to do that on this stage four times in a row, that feeling over and over again, has been pretty cool.”

Shelton made his Grand Slam debut at the US Open in September, losing against Nuno Borges as he struggled physically in a five-set, first-round defeat. Despite playing 16 sets across his four matches in Melbourne, the 20-year-old feels ready to push further when he takes on Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals, marking the rapid progress he has made fitness-wise.

“I think I’m in a pretty good place physically,” Shelton said. “I think that since the last Grand Slam I played, in the US Open, where I was really struggling, five sets in the heat, I barely survived. My fitness wasn’t near what I needed it to be. So I’ve worked really hard these past five or six months to get to where I want to be.

“I’m still not there. There’s still a lot of improvements that I can make. I’m young and I have time to make those improvements. But I feel pretty confident in my ability in the upcoming hopefully matches that I can go out there and I can last five sets with anybody. I’m definitely taking care of my body the right way, trying to bring myself to peak performance for these matches.”