|
 Karlovic raced through the first set in 28 minutes but the second
was a much tighter affair as he fended off four break points against
the dogged seventh seed.
Fourth seed Karlovic, who served 17 aces to remain unbroken for the
tournament, earned a Saturday semi-final clash with fifth-seeded
Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who beat Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan 3-6 6-1
6-1.
Karlovic and Mannarino are the highest remaining seeds in the
tournament, following the elimination of third seed Alexandr
Dolgopolov, beaten 2-6 6-3 6-4 by unseeded American Donald Young in
a match that stretched nearly two hours.
 "It was really cold and it wasn't easy to move and be aggressive but
in the beginning, I was playing really good. It might be one of my
best sets," Karlovic told the tournament website.
"Everything that I hit was in. I was confident in my game."
In the first evening match, Mannarino also took a while to warm up
but dominated once he had as Lu struggled on serve in the final two
sets.
"In the beginning it was tough to get my rhythm," Mannarino said.
"The wind was bearing down and it was really cold. Finally, in the
second set, I tried just to focus on my legs and move better and try
to be more consistent."
[to top of second column] |
For the second time in as many weeks, Young's semi-final opponent
will be Australian Bernard Tomic, who dispatched 19-year-old
Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3 6-1.
Young edged Tomic in three sets in the Memphis Open last Saturday.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by John
O'Brien)
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