Karlovic/Moser edge past Fisher/Kerr into the semi-finals – Hall of Fame Championships 2011
Croatian/German pair of Ivo Karlovic and Frank Moser ousted wild card entrants Ashley Fisher and Jordan Kerr of Australia in three sets 7-6(3), 4-6, 10-4 in the quarterfinals at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships
in Newport on Thursday. The match lasted for an hour and 27 minutes.
The Croatian/German duo and their opponents failed to break each other in the opening set and squared off the score at 6-6 to force a tie-break. Karlovic and Moser dominated the tie-break, dropping only three points and claiming
a couple of mini-breaks to win it 7-3.
They delivered 61 percent of the first serves and three aces in the first set. Karlovic and Moser served exceptionally well as they won an amazing 100 percent of the first service points and 83 percent of the second service points
in the first set. On the other hand, Fisher and Kerr had a decent first serve conversion rate but they committed a horrible four double faults in the opening set. The Australians succeeded in saving all the three break points they faced in the first set.
After losing a tight first set, Fisher and Kerr made a good start to the second set, breaking the Croatian/German team in the third game and consolidating on it to grab a 3-1 lead. The Australians did not allow their opponents
to break back and served out the set at 5-4.
Fisher and Kerr kept their first serve percentage at 64 percent and hit one ace in the second set. In comparison, Karlovic and Moser delivered 60 percent of the first serves and three aces in the second set. The Croatian/German
combination claimed 73 percent of the first service points and six of the eighteen first return points. The unseeded pair failed to save the only break point they faced and could not create any break point opportunity on the Australian team’s serve in the
second set.
Karlovic and Moser raised the level of their game in the match tie-break. The Croatian/German pair claimed four mini-breaks and did not lose any point on their own serve to win the match tie-break 10-4.
Karlovic and Moser fired a whopping 86 percent of the first serves and converted 67 percent of them into points in the match tie-break. They grabbed four of the five first return points in the match tie-break.
The Croatian/German duo will face Matthew Ebden of Australia and Ryan Harrison of USA in the semi-finals. The Australian/American combination beat top seeds Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram of USA in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 in the
quarterfinals.
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