Monday 27 July 2015 08:11, UK
Adrian Mannarino is through to the final of the Claro Open Colombia in Bogota despite a barrage of aces from his last-four opponent Ivo Karlovic.
Top seed Karlovic sent down 27 aces during his quarter-final win over Radek Stepanek and added a further 17 against Mannarino.
But the Frenchman, who only served two aces himself, nonetheless managed to win a very tight encounter 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5).
The third-seeded Mannarino successfully saved the only two break points of the match and won both tie-breaks 7-5 to move within one victory of a maiden ATP Tour title.
But Karlovic was denied a third straight appearance in the Bogota final, having won the event in 2013 before losing to Bernard Tomic last year.
And second seed Tomic is back in the final once again, having got the better of Germany’s Michael Berrer after a hard-fought tussle.
The Aussie eventually prevailed 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) in a match that lasted just under two hours and 20 minutes.
