Ivo, Gilles set up ‘oldest’ final in 41 years
Ivo Karlovic outserved his fellow Croatian Marin Cilic on Saturday to book a spot in his first ATP Tour final of the year against Gilles Muller at the grass-court event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
The 38-year-old, whose best surface has always been grass due to his 2.11-metre frame, edged out former US Open champion Cilic 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 7-6 (7/2) after two-and-three-quarter hours.
Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller, 34, stands between Karlovic and a ninth career title, after he sprung a surprise by beating second seed Alexander Zverev 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 in the first semi-final.
Sunday’s final will have the oldest combined age for two players since Ken Rosewall (42) and Ile Nastase (30) went head-tohead in Hong Kong in 1976.
Top seed Johanna Konta cruised past Magdalena Rybarikova in straight sets on Saturday to set up a final in Nottingham against Croatia’s Donna Vekic. The Briton reached her maiden WTA Tour final at home, and first on grass, with a comfortable 6-2, 7-5 win. Konta, 26, was never in trouble against Slovakia’s Rybarikova despite having to wait until late in the second set to grab the decisive break.
World number one Angelique Kerber has suffered a pre-Wimbledon injury scare, pulling out of this week’s Aegon Classic at Edgbaston due to a recurrence of a hamstring problem.
The German is also unsure whether she will be able to play at Eastbourne next week due to problems with the left hamstring strain which forced her to retire during her third-round match in Madrid.
“It started slowly and then I really felt it yesterday (Saturday) evening. It is my left hamstring, the same one I had in Madrid,” she told reporters.
Kerber had a disappointing claycourt season and went out in the first round at the French Open. She said the injury flared up again when she returned to the courts last week.