Rising Russian Aslan Karatsev wore Adidas during his sensational run at the Australian Open but he doesn't have a sponsorship deal with the company. At Melbourne Park, Karatsev accepted some Adidas shirts from Mischa Zverev, a german tennis player and the brother of Alexander Zverev.
“I was in the locker room packing my bag after the match and Mischa just asked me if I needed some t-shirts and I said 'okay' I also play with adidas so I took it. I had a contract with adidas five years ago so I still had plenty of clothes, but they were not the latest model.
Maybe he saw that I played with the old ones,'' Karatsev told the ATP website.
Karatsev is now ranked at No. 27 in the world and he is hoping to finish the season inside the top-30 as that could secure him notable sponsorship deals
“Since the ATP Cup and the Australian Open, we’ve had plenty of offers, but we’re waiting for a bigger offer,” says Karatsev's newly signed agent Pierre Christen. “A few clothes brands have been in touch.
He’ll be worth more if he finishes the year in the Top 20 or 30. “It has been very busy over the past five weeks, but more so since he won the Dubai title last week. I think a number of people were waiting to see if he could back up his Australian Open run”.
Karatsev, who beat Andrey Rublev en route to winning Dubai, praised the world No. 8. “Rublev is a special kind of player. Once you stand back against him, it's done. It's tough to get from deep behind the baseline back into the court.
The plan was to stay close to the line and not give him the position that he likes when he starts to move you. I thought I managed it pretty well,'' Karatsev said of Rublev.