Karatsev eases past Simon to set up all-Russian Kremlin Cup semi

Number two seed Aslan Karatsev eased into the last four of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Friday with a straight sets win over Gilles Simon of France.

Karatsev took the opener 6-4 after flurry of service breaks midway through the set and fell behind early in the second, but he won six of the next seven games to close out a 6-4, 6-3 win in a little under an hour and a half.

The world number 22 will face fellow Russian Karen Khachanov, the number three seed, for a place in the final after he overcame Australia's John Millman 7-5, 7-6(4).