Seventh seed Nick Kyrgios won the clutch points as he edged third seed Ivo Karlovic 7-6(4), 7-6(2) on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur.
Both players won 75 per cent of their service points and saved the three break points they created between them, but it was Kyrgios who won the decisive points in the tie-breaks to seal victory in 85 minutes.
“It feels really good to be in the semi-finals,” said Kyrgios. “I knew today was going to be tough. I thought he served really well, but I thought I also served really well and looked after my serve. It was a fun match as well; it was really good. I thought I stayed composed and today was a really good performance.”
Thirteen aces from Karlovic sees him close the gap to 35 on Goran Ivanisevic’s all-time record of 10,237 (stats kept since 1991). The 36-year-old Croat was contesting his ninth ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season and is the oldest player in the Top 20 since 37-year-old Jimmy Connors in February 1990.
The 20-year-old Kyrgios, whose mother is Malaysian, is bidding to reach his second final of the season after finishing runner-up to Richard Gasquet in his first ATP World Tour final in Estoril in April.
The Australian goes on to face second seed Feliciano Lopez, who battled past eighth seed Vasek Pospisil 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-2 in two hours. The Spaniard won 73 per cent of his service points and broke Pospisil four times as he beat the Canadian for the second time.
“I think I played a great match,” said Lopez. “I think I improved my game from my first match yesterday. Even though I lost the first set, I was getting better and better as the match went on. I’m very happy.”
The 34-year-old Lopez is looking to reach his second ATP World Tour final of the year (l. to Estrella Burgos in Quito) and has a 1-0 lead over Kyrgios in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, beating the Canberra native in Rome earlier this year.
“Against Nick it’s going to be tough,” said Lopez. “He is an aggressive player. I have to be aware of that and try to be aggressive on the court and put some pressure on him. Hopefully I will have my chances. It’s an exciting match to play against one of the young guns on the tour.”
( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ferrer-dimitrov-lopez-kyrgios-in-kuala-lumpur-quarterfinal-action )
Topics: Atp World Tour, Feliciano Lopez, Ivo Karlovic, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Open, Nick Kyrgios, Tennis News, Vasek Pospisil
BAD BOY @NickKyrgios HAS HIS MOMMY AS A “MINDER” THIS WEEK AS HE EDGES OUT @ivokarlovic FOR SEMI FINAL SPOT…- http://t.co/yCvTVN1mjn