- Roland Garros Qualifying Draws and Schedule for Tuesday, May 17th
- Roland Garros Qualifying Draws and Schedule for Monday, May 16th
- Djokovic builds momentum for French Open 2022 with sixth Rome Masters Tennis title
- Novak’s Back: Djokovic Beats Tsitsipas for Sixth Rome Crown
- Rome ATP and WTA Draws and Schedule for Sunday, May 15th
- Stefanos Tsitsipas Defeats Alexander Zverev to Reach Maiden Rome Final
- Iga Swiatek Scores 26th Straight Win, Sets up Rome Semifinal vs. Sabalenka
- Rome ATP and WTA Draws and Schedule for Saturday, May 14th
- Foot injury returns for Rafa Nadal in three-set loss to Shapovalov at Rome Masters tennis
- Rome ATP and WTA Draws and Schedule for Friday, May 13th
- Naomi Osaka Splits from IMG To Form New Management Firm
- Ricky’s picks for the Rome Tennis third round: Djokovic vs. Wawrinka and Nadal vs. Shapovalov
- Rome ATP and WTA Draws and Schedule for Thursday, May 12th
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Leads List of Roland Garros Wild Card Recipients
- Ricky’s tennis picks for Wednesday at the Rome Masters, including Nadal vs. Isner
Rising Tennis Star Aslan Karatsev Wins His First ATP Tennis Tourney In Dubai
- Updated: March 20, 2021
Karatsev captures first ATP title in Dubai, continuing his incredible 2021 hot streak

By Ricky Dimon
Aslan Karatsev is simply unstoppable in 2021–at least if he is playing against anyone outside the top four.
Karatsev captured the first ATP title of his career on Saturday, erasing Lloyd Harris 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The 27-year-old did not get broken a single time–saving the only two break points he faced–while triumphing in one hour and 15 minutes.
With a shocking semifinal run at the Australian Open in addition to a second-round showing in Doha, Karatsev is now 12-2 this season with losses only to Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem.
“I am super happy,” said the world No. 42, whose incredible 2021 campaign has come completely out of nowhere–from outside the top 100, to be exact. “[I was] really nervous…. You never know when [success] is coming. I did a good job with my team, with my coach, and it has happened now.
“I want to congratulate my opponent for (reaching) the final. He did a great week.”
Karatsev’s comments about Harris were right on the money. In fact, this was the best week of the South African’s career.
At 81st in the rankings, Harris had to qualify just to get into the Dubai
main draw. After doing so with a pair of victories, the 24-year-old added five
more wins to his credit–including over Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, and Denis
Shapovalov.
However, Harris was no match for Karatsev at the final hurdle. The Russian
broke serve right away for a 2-0 advantage in the opening set and fought off
one break point to reach 3-0. Harris did well to save two break points while
holding for 2-4, but he never had another chance to get back on serve. It was
all but over when Karatsev broke to begin set two, and he added another break
at 4-2 for good measure.
Karatsev will climb to No. 27 in the world on Monday.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.