Karlovic Towers Over Isner, Fish Upset in Houston; Wozniacki v. Jankovic in Charleston

by Sean Randall | April 9th, 2011, 10:26 am
  • 6 Comments

Ivo Karlovic continued his return to the upper echelon of tennis yesterday by knocking out his fellow short-challenged buddy John Isner in what else, three tiebreakers! Karlovic saved two match points to turn away Isner 7-6(2), 6-7(2), 7-6(9) in the Houston quarterfinals.

In the match of the two tallest players in the sport, Karlovic finished with 24 aces, Isner 23. Both were broken once in the second set. The Croat has now won two of three against John.

Karlovic, who had to qualify for the tournament because of his No. 174 ranking, now plays the last American standing, Ryan Sweeting. Sweeting is appearing in his first ATP semifinal after beating Gabishvili.

Heading into the teeth of the clay season, Isner’s record on the season is a poor 8-8. Have we seen the very best from big John?

In the other semifinal it’s Pablo Cuevas against Kei Nishkori. Nishikori earned the upset of the tournament beating Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-2 to deny the American a place in the ATP top 10 come Monday had he won the title.

“It’s disappointing, especially at a place like Houston where I have great memories. It would have been a nice place to do it, especially in the States. And being the No. 1 American is a responsibility each time you step on the court.”

Said Nishikori, “I don’t think [Mardy] played great today. He missed a lot. I played good enough to beat him and played good clay court tennis. I was trying to run him around and hit hard to his forehand. I returned well today.”

Tennis Channel has live coverage today of both semifinals.

At the WTA stop in Charleston World No. 1 Caroline Woziacki takes on Jelena Jankovic in one semifinal. In the other it’s Elena Vesnina v. Peng Shuai.

Wozniacki was down a break in the second and third sets in her 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win yesterday over Yanina Wickmayer. Jankovic has won four of five against the Dane.

“We’ve never played each other on clay,” Jankovic said. “Obviously we know each other’s games very well, but I want to play my tennis. I want to continue to do the things I do best and not really let her do what she likes to do best.”

And in Marbella, Spain, Victoria Azarenka ran her win streak up to nine after Dinara Safina retired with a back injury down 5-1 in the first set. Azarenka just won the Miami title last Saturday.

HOUSTON SATURDAY SCHEDULE

STADIUM start 1:00 pm
[Q] I Karlovic (CRO) vs [WC] R Sweeting (USA)

Not Before 2:20 PM
[6] K Nishikori (JPN) vs [7] P Cuevas (URU)

Not Before 6:00 PM
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) vs J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA)

SATURDAY CHARLESTON SCHEDULE

STADIUM start 11:00 am
[1] K Peschke (CZE) / K Srebotnik (SLO) vs [4] B Mattek-Sands (USA) / M Shaughnessy (USA)

Not Before 1:00 PM
[1] C Wozniacki (DEN) vs [3] J Jankovic (SRB)
[11] S Peng (CHN) vs E Vesnina (RUS)
S Peng (CHN) / J Zheng (CHN) vs S Mirza (IND) / E Vesnina (RUS) – After suitable rest


You Might Like:
John Isner v Jack Sock In Houston SFs; Angelique Kerber Winning Again In Charleston
Isner Out Of Houston, Defending Champion Johnson Leads Field
Harrison, Blake, Dr. Ivo Today at U.S. Clay Courts in Houston
Keys, Miami Open Champ Konta Headline WTA Charleston
A Fish on Clay?

Don't miss any tennis action, stay connected with Tennis-X

Get the FREE TX daily newsletter

6 Comments for Karlovic Towers Over Isner, Fish Upset in Houston; Wozniacki v. Jankovic in Charleston

grendel Says:

modest comments from Nishikori. I wonder if he is right. That is: was Fish simply confirming his reputation as an endlessly up and down fellow, or did Nishikori genuinely outsmart him?


dari Says:

Good for nishikori, wow.
I wouldn’t mind to catch a minute of that wozjelena match, the clay ought to be good for them both.


grendel Says:

Karlovic, now – he seems to be having a bit of an Indian summer. Might disturb a few well laid plans in the clay court season. For instance, he won’t beat Nadal, but he might soften him up for the next chap.


Fred Says:

NID when it comes down to Mardy Fish.

You put an American on something else that isn’t hard courts and BAM! They ALL lose!

I remember so much hype when Isner took 3 days to beat a journeyman Nicolas Mahut in the FIRST round.
How sad for a man to take 3 bloody days to beat a NOBODY and get so much hype and parade all over tv from Letterman to the Today Show.
What’s John Isner done since?
What has Sam Querrey ever done?
They both show up in small tournaments when the better players are still away and win a few and they hype starts all over again.

Andy Roddick hasn’t made the 2nd week of a major since 2009!
He loses early in Indian Wells to Gasquet
He claims to be “sick” when Cuevas beat him in Miami yet he feels great enough to go to the pool with his wife and goes to Augusta to caddy with Zach Johnson!

If Roddick wanted to give himself a chance he should have flown to Monte Carlo for the first time since 2003 to work on his return of serve;footwork and GAIN ranking points.

The ONLY time Roddick made an effort on clay was 2009 when he lost in the QUARTERS to Federe
He lost in the 4th round at Roland Garros to Monfils
lost in the SEMIS in Queens to Blake
Lost in the FINALS against Federer at Wimbledon

Roddick cannot claim to be “sick” as he is NOT and he cannot claim to want to celebrate his 2nd wedding anniversary his wife on the 17h because Federer will also celebrate his 2nd anniversary on the 11th WHILE playing in Monte Carlo


jane Says:

Fred, it is true that in 2009 when Roddick played a fuller clay swing and went deepish at both Madrid and the FO, it seemed to help his run on grass, as he got all the way to the final, deepest he’d gone since 2005? But it is worth noted he was newly fit and revived by his new relationship with Stefanki. Still, maybe the play on clay actually helps him on grass in that is forces him to work in other areas of his game like return, movement etc. Hmmmm. Also after Miami loss I though he said he might try to get to clay “early” this year. Then again, he had that cough too.


jane Says:

^ sorry so many typos!

Top story: Alcaraz Too Good For Medvedev, Defends Indian Wells Masters Title