Stan Wawrinka defeats Ivo Karlovic 6-7 7-6 7-6 at Cincinnati Masters
Friday 21 August 2015 17:29, UK
Stan Wawrinka overcame a barrage of aces before eliminating big-serving Ivo Karlovic from the Cincinnati Masters.
The Swiss hitter came back from a set down and is into the quarter-finals where he will play Novak Djokovic – but he was handed a major scare on Thursday by Karlovic.
Having hit 35 aces, the Croatian was serving to save match point but double-faulted to hand Wawrinka a 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) win in their third-round match.
The first set was dominated by serve, without a significant threat of a break point ever mustered by either player. Karlovic's usual reliance on his main weapon, the serve, was matched through by the equally dominant Wawrinka until the end of the set.
Wawrinka's attempt to return with vigour in Karlovic's fifth service game was quickly extinguished by a brutal ace but the 6ft 11in Croatian would display more verve in his repertoire in the tie-break.
Against serve, Karlovic sneaked forward to the net and hit winners to go 2-0 ahead. His subtlety to stroke the ball past Wawrinka at the crucial time took him to 4-1 up before he sealed the set.
Buoyed by his lead, Karlovic opened up the first two break points of the match in the third game of the next set but the gritty Wawrinka held on in a back-and-forth tussle.
The world No 5, who overcame a stern challenge from teenager Borna Coric on Wednesday, maintained control through his own service games even if they lacked the power and velocity of Karlovic's.
The scoreboard continued to mirror service games, without a break, and a Karlovic ace typically tied the second set at six apiece.
Like in the opener, the match opened up during the tie-break as Wawrinka established a lead against serve. Hitting aces of his own, he moved 6-3 ahead and wasted two set points before levelling the match.
The third set followed a familiar pattern until Karlovic's mighty serve finally faltered when he needed it the most.
Elsewhere, Alexandr Dolgopolov defeated Jerzy Janowicz 6-3 3-6 6-4, and Tomas Berdych hammered Tommy Robredo for the loss of just one game, 6-0 6-1.
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