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MELBOURNE, Australia — Karen Khachanov moved into his first Australian Open semifinal when Sebastian Korda stopped playing in the third set Tuesday because of an injured right wrist.
Khachanov will face either No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or unseeded Jiri Lehecka for a berth in the final at Melbourne Park.
The 18th-seeded Khachanov was leading 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-0 when the 29th-seeded Korda retired from the match.
“Obviously not the way you want to finish a match,” said Khachanov, who also reached the last four of the 2022 US Open. “I think until a certain point, it was very competitive, very good battle.”
Korda, 22, who upset 2021 US Open champion and two-time Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev in the third round, received treatment on his wrist from a trainer during the second set Tuesday. The injury dashed his hopes of emulating his father Petr’s 1998 triumph at Melbourne Park.
“I hit one forehand return and after that it was tough to hold the racket at times. Volleying was almost impossible for me,” Korda said. “I had it a little bit in Adelaide, but then it went away, and during the (earlier) matches it was completely fine. Then one mishit return in the second set and it bothered me a lot after that. It got worse during the match. I’ve never had any wrist issues before.”
The younger Korda was one of three 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.
“Sebastian beat one of my friends Daniil Medvedev in three sets and in Hubert Hurkacz in five sets … he was playing great tennis,” Khachanov said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.