Ivo Karlovic halts Edouard Roger-Vasselin to enter semis – Kremlin Cup 2012
Former Top 15, Ivo Karlovic from Croatia, got the better of the French qualifier, Edouard Roger-Vasselin, in straight sets at the Kremlin Cup 2012 on Friday. He nudged up a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory against the world number 116 to progress into the final four
at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 Series event held in Moscow, Russia.
Karlovic brought his experience into handy and overpowered the French in one hour and 23 minutes. Battling each other for the first time, the Croat not only edged in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series by 1-0 against Roger-Vasselin and powered into the semi-finals
at this indoor hard court event.
The 33-year-old thundered into the Olympic Stadium. He drew the first blood in the opening game and took the initial lead. Karlovic squandered his edge in the very next game but remained focused, eventually taking the set to a tie-breaker. The Croat prevailed
in it and clicked the opener with a 7-6(4) win.
Ranked 130th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Karlovic carried his momentum in the following set. He swiftly bagged his entire serves without encountering any trouble. The Croat cashed the lone break opportunity in the eighth
game and clinched the set with a 6-3 score line.
On the whole, the Croatian veteran struck 23 aces and clobbered a better first serve share of 69 per cent as compared to his rival’s 63 per cent. He also impressively availed 36 out of 43 points on it and cashed both break chances to steal the show. Karlovic
ended the match with 68 points in contrast with the French’s 53 points.
Up next for Karlovic is the fourth seed, Thomaz Bellucci from Brazil.
“I’m very happy to go through to the semi-finals and I’m pleased about today,” the seed stated in a courtside interview after trouncing the Pole. “Janowicz has a very good serve. He was serving amazing, so I was a little nervous to finish the match. But
I kept my concentration and focus to win the tie-break.”
The Brazilian star recorded a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory against Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz to secure this spot.
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