After snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against John Isner in the quarterfinals, Steve Johnson will be back in action against Ivo Karlovic on Saturday with a spot in the Washington, D.C. title match at stake. Karlovic, meanwhile, is coming off a title in Newport.
Steve Johnson and Ivo Karlovic will be facing each other for the fifth in their careers and for the second time at the Citi Open when they clash in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon.
Johnson is leading the head-to-head series 3-1, a mark that features a 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(4) victory over Karlovic two years ago during third-round action in Washington, D.C. The American’s quarterfinal run that summer also included a third-set tiebreaker victory over John Isner, whom he defeated in thrilling fashion again on Friday. Isner won 93 total points to Johnson’s 87 and led by a mini-break in each of two tiebreakers only to see Johnson survive 7-6(7), 7-6(15) after one hour and 57 minutes.
Thus continues the world No. 25’s hot streak, which is highlighted by his first career ATP title on the grass courts of Nottingham. Johnson also advanced to the Wimbledon fourth round before succumbing to Roger Federer. In addition to the fifth seed’s heroics against Isner, he has routine straight-set defeats of Adrian Mannarino and Ryan Harrison to his credit.
Like his opponent, Karlovic is in outstanding form at the moment. Building on his title last week in Newport, the 6’11” Croat has enjoyed a remarkably straightforward path–especially by his standards–to the Washington, D.C. semis. He has not dropped a set in victories over Brian Baker, Bernard Tomic, and Jack Sock. Karlovic has double-faulted 14 times through three matches, but he has also blasted 66 aces and has not been broken a single time.
“I’m just gonna go out there and try to take care of my serve, first and foremost,” Johnson explained. “That’s the goal every time. After that, (the goal is) just try to get into as many return points as I can.”
Return points, of course, will be a few and far between–whereas tiebreakers should be plentiful. Johnson is 4-2 lifetime against Karlovic in ‘breakers, thanks in part to his clutch play during their 2014 Citi Open showdown. The former college star should once again benefit from home-court advantage in the United States and getting to see the Isner serve one day before running into Karlovic certainly does not hurt.
Pick: Johnson in 3
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Stevie in three tight sets
I actually had the semis correct pre tournament minus Karlovic being here. Johnson in 3