Tennis

Karlovic beats Vesely to reach Duesseldorf clay-court final

Published May. 23, 2014 10:01 a.m. ET

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DUESSELDORF, Germany -- Ivo Karlovic of Croatia used his big serve to beat Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (7) to reach the Duesseldorf Open final on Friday.

Karlovic fired his 16th ace to win the match and make it to the final of a clay-court event for the first time since 2007, when he won his only title on the surface in Houston.

The seventh-seeded Croat saved all nine break points he faced, and fought off two set points before overcoming Vesely.

Vesely was the youngest player to break into the top 100 last year, and was ranked 104. The former No. 1 junior in the world, Vesely was in his first ATP semifinal. 

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