Karen Khachanov enters first Australian Open semifinal

MELBOURNE: For a full set, Karen Khachanov’s Australian Open quarter-final against Sebastian Korda on Tuesday was as tight as can be.

Right up until, that is, Khachanov unleashed a down-the-line backhand to cap a 17-shot point and steal a tiebreaker.

Khachanov raised his right index finger to his ear, telling the Rod Laver Arena crowd to let him hear some support, then wagged that finger in a “No. 1!” gesture. Not long after that, early in the second set, Korda, a 22-year-old American whose father Petr was the 1998 champion in Australia, felt pain in his right wrist when he mishit a forehand service return. He called for a trainer to examine and tape it.

And early in the third, it was over, because Korda stopped playing while trailing 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-0, allowing Khachanov to reach his first semi-final at Melbourne Park -- and his second consecutive trip to the final four at a Grand Slam tournament, following his run at the US Open last September.

Soon, Khachanov was doing an on-court winner’s interview, telling the spectators to offer applause for his injured opponent, while Korda was walking toward the locker room, a red equipment bag over his left shoulder and a dour look on his face.

Korda’s wrist first bothered him during a tune-up tournament in Adelaide earlier this month, but he said it seemed to be fine over the past two weeks until Tuesday.

Earlier Tuesday, reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina reached her first semi-final at Melbourne Park, beating 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4 in a match delayed for about 20 minutes in the first set while the main stadium’s retractable roof was shut because of rain.

Korda, who was seeded 29th, upset 2021 US Open champion and two-time Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev in the third round, then made it past No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz in five sets in the fourth round.

The younger Korda was one of three 20-something American men to get to the quarterfinals this time, the most for the country at the Australian Open since 2000. The other two, Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul, meet for a berth in the semifinals on Wednesday.

None of the three ever had been to the final eight at a major tournament.

Later, Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Jiri Lehecka in straight sets to set up a semi-final with Khachanov.

Greek third seed Tsitsipas reached his fourth Melbourne semi-final in five years with a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 win.

Lehecka, of the Czech Republic, had been one of the surprise packages of the tournament having beaten two top-12 seeds to make the quarter-finals.

The 21-year-old had previously never won a Grand Slam match.