Newport SF previews and predictions: Baghdatis vs. Karlovic, Muller vs. Young

Only one American remains as semifinal action gets underway in Newport on Saturday. Donald Young is going up against fellow lefty Gilles Muller, while Marcos Baghdatis battles Ivo Karlovic for a place in the title match.

(4) Marcos Baghdatis vs. (2) Ivo Karlovic

Karlovic and Baghdatis will be meeting for the fifth time in their careers when they clash in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Saturday. Baghdatis is leading the head-to-head series 3-1 and his only loss has come via retirement at the 2008 Metz event (the Cypriot was ahead by a set when he had to call it quits). The two veterans most recently squared off on a pair of occasions in 2015, when Baghdatis got the job done 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(7) in Geneva and again on clay thanks to a 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4 French Open victory.

Always especially dangerous on grass, Karlovic could really use two more wins–and with them his seventh career ATP title (third on the green stuff). The 6’11” Croat is just 10-13 for the season and is in the process of making amends for a second-round Wimbledon loss to Lukas Lacko. He punched his ticket to the last four in Newport by taking out Frank Dancevic and Marco Chiudinelli. Baghdatis got a tough draw at the All-England Club and fell right away to John Isner 7-6(2), 7-6(5), 6-3, but so far this week he has disposed of Brian Baker and Dudi Sela in straight sets. The world No. 43 has now trumped his quarterfinal performances on the lawn of Halle and Nottingham. Based on his decent enough form and his successful past history at Karlovic’s expense, Baghdatis should have the advantage.

Pick: Baghdatis in 3

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(8) Donald Young vs. (3) Gilles Muller

Muller is two victories away from what would be a long-awaited first career ATP title. The 33-year-old Luxembourgian came close last month in ‘s-Hertongenbosch but ended up losing the final to Nicolas Mahut. He is well-rested–and playing like it–after falling in the Wimbledon second round to Andrey Kuznetsov. Muller, ranked 39th in the world, has advanced in Newport with defeats of Victor Estrella Burgos and Adrian Mannarino.

Up next for the No. 3 seed on Saturday is a third career encounter with Young. The head-to-head series is tied up at one win apiece, with Muller having dominated last summer in Atlanta before Muller cruised earlier this season in Acapulco. Young had no trouble doing his part to set up this proverbial rubber match, as he destroyed fellow Americans Jared Donaldson, Stefan Kozlov, and Steve Johnson earlier this week. This should be a tougher test for the world No. 61 because Muller is sky-high on confidence right now and he just had the benefit of facing a fellow left-hander in the form of Mannarino.

Pick: Muller in 3

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