Peter Gojowczyk ousted Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open defending champion and second seed Ivo Karlovic, saving a match point en route to a tight 7-6(5), 6-7(1), 7-6(4) victory on Thursday.

“I’m very happy. It’s my second [semi-final],” said Gojowczyk. “I was once in 2013 in Doha. I was there, playing well, too, and now I’m here in Newport and enjoying it.” 

The 28-year-old German withstood 30 aces from his Croatian opponent and saved all three break points he faced to advance to the semi-finals after two hours and 26 minutes. Gojowczyk improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Karlovic to 2-0.

“In the end it didn’t go my way. That’s life, that’s tennis. That’s how it goes sometimes,” said Karlovic, who held a match point at 5-4 in the third set. “I was not really moving well… Serve was good. Volleys were OK so I have to look at the positives and continue with my journey.”

The 38 year old had reached three straight finals at this ATP World Tour 250 grass-court tournament, and reflected on the end of the streak. “It was a good run. But this year was a little bit short. Hopefully next year will be more than this.”

Gojowczyk, currently No. 131 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, will face Matthew Ebden for a place in the final. The Aussie reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final with a 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 win over Tobias Kamke, firing six aces to prevail in two hours and 41 minutes.

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Aussie Teams Reach Semi-finals

The all-Aussie pair of Alex Bolt and Andrew Whittington advanced to the semi-finals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over second seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky. They next face their compatriots, Matt Reid and John-Patrick Smith, who advanced to the last four with a 7-6(5), 7-6(4) victory over third seeds Purav Raja and Divij Sharan.

Sam Groth continued the strong showing for the Australian contingent, as he teamed up with India’s Leander Paes for a 6-4, 6-1 win over Wesley Koolhof and Artem Sitak. The third seeds will face top seeds Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Rajeev Ram in the semi-finals. 

Third seed and defending champion Fabio Fognini recorded his 20th match win of the season at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Thursday when he booked his place in the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 win over Nicolas Kicker in one hour and 49 minutes. The Italian will next face #NextGenATP Russian Andrey Rublev, who topped Andrej Martin 7-6(5), 7-5, breaking on four of his seven opportunities to win in one hour and 56 minutes.

Second seed and two-time former semi-finalist Gael Monfils meets Rogerio Dutra Silva later today.

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In doubles, third seeds Guillermo Duran and Andres Molteni defeated Marc Polmans and Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.

If you were one of the best in the world at one part of your job, but you really wanted to pursue another aspect, in which you were very good but still growing and learning, which would you choose?

For now, Pierre-Hugues Herbert chooses both – doubles, in which he’s won nine titles, including four ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns – and singles, in which he’s reached an ATP World Tour final and is No. 72 in the Emirates ATP Rankings but eager to climb.

“It’s not an easy thing. Playing both is really tough. Every week you’re playing two tournaments,” Herbert said. “And it’s not easy to choose the tournaments you want to play.”

This week, the 26-year-old Herbert is choosing his priority – singles – at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport, where he’s making his debut at the historic event. The fourth seed won his opener on Wednesday, saving 11 of 15 break points and coming back from a break down in the third set to beat Spaniard Adrian Menendez-Maceiras 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.

“It’s a great place, a great venue. I’m happy to be here to discover a new place,” Herbert said. “I’m happy to be through to the quarter-finals.”

The grass-court season was a week longer this year – six weeks instead of five – but it still wasn’t quite long enough for Herbert, who prefers the old-school serve and volleying that often thrives on lawns.

“I wanted to extend my grass-court season to play a lot on grass… I like grass courts. I’m an offensive player. It’s a surface that fits my game,” Herbert said.

The right-hander also had heard good things about Newport from a reliable source, his doubles partner and countryman Nicolas Mahut. “He told me that it’s a great place to be,” Herbert said. “It’s a special grass court. Everybody is going to tell you that.”

Mahut couldn’t come this year – he’s the best man in Julien Benneteau’s wedding this weekend – but Herbert will try to replicate his teammate’s experiences in Rhode Island. The 35-year-old Mahut has reached the Newport final two times, falling in the 2007 final to Fabrice Santoro before beating former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt for the 2013 title.

Herbert and Mahut generally play at the same tournament. They plan their schedules at least two months in advance, and their singles rankings, which determine which tournaments they can automatically enter, largely rule the conversation, Herbert said.

This season, Herbert has played at least a qualifying singles match at 15 ATP World Tour tournaments and has a 9-12 record. In doubles, he’s played at 12 ATP events and has gone 17-9.

“It’s always doubles that is going to be sacrified for the singles. At my age, I’m 26, and I have big goals in singles,” Herbert said. “But even if I’m always playing doubles, I’ll play full and I’ll try to get the win in the end. But it’s the singles that is taking the priority… I think I can achieve much more and I’ll try to get my ranking up. I’ll try to enter the Top 50 and who knows, maybe in the future if I continue to get better, maybe I’ll have a chance to be a really good player.”

On Friday, Herbert will try to reach his second ATP World Tour semi-final of the season when he meets American Bjorn Fratangelo. Herbert fell in the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament semi-finals in February to Dominic Thiem. The Frenchman’s prior best singles result came nearby, on the East Coast of the U.S., when he reached the 2015 Winston-Salem Open final (l. to Kevin Anderson).

“I like playing in the States. It’s a beautiful country. It’s a big country with everything… So I’m enjoying my time here and I’ll try to do better this week.”

#NextGenATP Karen Khachanov, the leader of six Russians in the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, saved two match points in a hard-fought victory on Thursday at the SkiStar Swedish Open.

Fifth seed Khachanov saved match points at 4-5 and 5-6, both on Ad-Out points, in a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis in two hours and 38 minutes. It was his 11th clay-court match win of 2017 (his 19th overall).

Khachanov, currently at a career-high No. 33, is through to his fourth ATP World Tour quarter-final (or better) this season, which is highlighted by a semi-final run at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle (l. to Federer).

Former World No. 10 Gulbis, who rose 241 spots as a result of reaching the Wimbledon third round (d. del Potro in 2R, l. to Djokovic), hit 16 aces and lost just nine of his first-service points.

Second seed and defending champion Albert Ramos-Vinolas and 2013, 2016 finalist Fernando Verdasco also compete on day four at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament.

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Swedish Wild Cards Deny Zimonjic Milestone Win
Swedish brothers Elias Ymer and Mikael Ymer denied Nenad Zimonjic his 700th doubles match win. The Ymers recovered from a 3-5 deficit in the second set to beat Zimonjic and David Marrero 7-5, 7-6(3) in 87 minutes for a place in the semi-finals.

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SkiStar Swedish Open – Bastad, Sweden

Home hopes and #NextGenATP Swedes Elias Ymer and Mikael Ymer took a ride through the city in open cars, throwing out tennis balls with autographs to fans.

All players and a host of tennis legends attended the players’ party held at Norvikken restaurant to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the tournament.

Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag – Umag, Croatia

Borna Coric, Andrey Rublev and Marc Polmans attended a Next Gen ATP Q&A with journalists at the NextGen Arena.

David Goffin participated in a live chat and virtual car racing experience.

Benoit Paire took his skills to the water for paddleboard tennis against Polmans.

Dell Technologies Hall Of Fame Open – Newport, Rhode Island

Stefan Kozlov and Taylor Fritz competed in a paddle board race and narrowly managed to avoid falling in the chilly water in Newport. Watch

Ivo Karlovic, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Bjorn Fratangelo, Rajeev Ram, Michael Mmoh and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski attended the draw ceremony.

Ram, Fratangelo and Denis Kudla performed in this trivia contest about Andy Roddick and Kim Clijster, two of this year’s inductees to the Tennis Hall of Fame. Watch

Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Kwiatkowski went by boat to Rose Island, a beautiful nature preserve with a lighthouse, where they took in scenic views of Narragansett Bay and played mini-tennis on the grass overlooking the water.

Leander Paes, Rajeev Ram and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi took a tour of the International Tennis Hall of Fame led by Newport tournament director and Hall of Fame CEO Todd Martin. Qureshi won an interactive trivia contest among the three players, Ram put on a headset and did play-by-play of a Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal match, and Paes was presented with the racquet he donated after winning the 1998 Newport singles title.

You could have forgiven John Isner if he would have stayed off grass for 11 months. During his ninth showing at The Championships, Wimbledon, earlier this month, the World No. 21 suffered one of his most “disappointing” losses at the All England Club.

Isner led then-World No. 90 Dudi Sela two sets to one in the second round but couldn’t put away the Israeli, falling 6-3 in the fifth set. It marked the first time Isner had lost that early at SW19 since 2013.

But the 32 year old didn’t sit around and mope; he prepared for this week’s Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport, where Isner is making his 10^th appearance. The top seed arrives looking for his first ATP World Tour title since the 2015 BB&T Atlanta Open (d. Baghdatis).

Facing the big-serving Sam Groth on Wednesday, the 6’10” Isner cruised into the quarter-finals, dropping only three first-serve points (31/34) to dismiss the Aussie qualifier 6-2, 6-4.

“I was disappointed with how Wimbledon went. But as soon as I got home I continued to work hard and keep myself in shape… I was just eager to play tennis,” Isner told ATPWorldTour.com. “I’ve always loved playing here… I’ve won this tournament twice before so I have good memories, good feelings.”

Isner last won the Newport title in 2012, when he defended his 2011 crown by beating former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt. Home tournaments in the U.S. have typically been friendly to Isner, who grew up in North Carolina and played collegiate tennis at the University of Georgia. Eight of his 10 titles have come on home soil.

The right-hander has had an up-and-down first half of the season. In April, he nearly reached his fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title match, falling in the semi-finals to eventual champion Alexander Zverev at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. But Isner comes to Newport with a nearly even record, 16-14.

Grass courts, with their short blades, can help a big server, such as Isner. But the low bounces can also cause havoc for big men during baseline rallies. “The ball skids through a little bit more… So we have to be diligent. We have to go out there and have a pretty distinct game plan,” Isner said.

He stuck to the plan on Wednesday. Isner broke twice in the first set and again in the second set to avoid any tie-breaks. He spent only 61 minutes on Stadium Court.

“At Wimbledon I lost because I didn’t go for my shots. When someone like me is playing too passively and landing the ball short, things don’t work out because I’m not built to play defence,” Isner said. “Today I took the court with a pretty good mindset, which is just go for my shot. If it works out great, if it doesn’t work out, great. I want to win and lose the right way. It’s easier said than done but I think I did that today.”

Read More: Ferrer Stays Perfect In Bastad

Top seed David Goffin enjoyed a winning return to action on Wednesday at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag as he defeated qualifier Attila Balazs 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in Umag.

The Belgian was back on the match court for the first time since suffering a right ankle injury when he fell in his third-round match with Horacio Zeballos at Roland Garros in May.

Goffin missed three opportunities to seal his comeback victory in straight sets in the second set tie-break, but raced through the decider against his No. 174-ranked opponent to prevail in two hours and 21 minutes.

The 26-year-old Goffin is making his debut at this ATP World Tour 250 clay-court tournament and goes on to face Ivan Dodig. The Croatian saved one match point as he battled past Marco Cecchinato 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-2. The Italian was on the brink of victory as he led 6/5 in the tie-break, but Dodig held on to win the next three points and quickly raced to a 4-1 lead in the decider before advancing.

Zagreb native Dodig is enjoying his best run on the singles court in Umag and will look to beat Goffin for the first time (0-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head) to reach his first ATP singles semi-final since Tokyo in October 2013 (l. to Raonic).

Eighth seed Jiri Vesely, making his fifth straight appearance in Umag, defeated Radu Albot 7-6(3), 6-2 in one hour and 38 minutes. Enjoying his best run in Umag, the 24-year-old Vesely is through to his third ATP quarter-final of the season and goes on to face fourth seed Paolo Lorenzi, who was a 7-5, 6-3 winner over Aljaz Bedene. Ten years Vesely’s senior, Lorenzi will look to overturn a 0-3 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Czech.

Milestone Win For Nestor

Top seeds Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor cruised into the Umag quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Mikhail Elgin and Denis Istomin. The 44-year-old Nestor, who is competing in Umag for the first time in his 27-year career, made it a memorable visit to the Istrian coast as he notched his 1,050^th tour-level doubles win. 

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