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Ivo Karlovic and Jack Sock are set to square off in an intriguing semifinal matchup on Saturday in Newport. The winner will battle either Rajeev Ram or John-Patrick Smith for the title.
(4) Jack Sock vs. (2) Ivo Karlovic
Karlovic and Sock will be facing each other for the fourth time in their careers and for the fourth time in the United States when they collide in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of Karlovic, who has defeated the American twice on hard courts; 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-2 at the 2013 Indian Wells Masters and 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-3 one season later in Memphis. Sock exacted some revenge shortly thereafter by cruising 6-1, 6-4 on the clay courts of Houston en route to the title.
Grass obviously favors Karlovic, who is looking borderline lethal on the green stuff right now. Newport’s No. 2 seed reached the fourth round of Wimbledon before falling to Andy Murray and so far this week he has gotten the best of Illya Marchenko, Malek Jaziri, and Dustin Brown. In his last two matches, Karlovic has fired 52 aces and has not been broken. Sock beat Radek Stepanek and Lukas Lacko before getting a quick retirement from Jan Hernych on Friday. Hernych slipped and suffered an apparent knee injury with his opponent serving at 0-1 in the first set. The world No. 39 is 8-3 lifetime in Newport, while Karlovic finished runner-up last year. This clash should be high on quality and low on breaks, with Karlovic having a slight edge at the crucial moments thanks to his one reliably dominant weapon.
Pick: Karlovic in 3
Rajeev Ram vs. John-Patrick Smith
An accomplished doubles player who thrives at the net even in singles, Ram has always been at his best on grass. Not coincidentally, the only ATP grass-court tournament in the United States has to be considered the veteran’s American favorite tournament. Ram captured the Newport title six years ago in what remains the only tour-level final of his career. The world No. 161 is now 14-5 lifetime at this event following wins this week over John Isner, Yuichi Sugita, and Adrian Mannarino. Ram beat both Isner and Mannarino in third-set tiebreakers after saving at least one match point on both occasions.
Heading into Newport, Ram had no ATP-level victories this season. Smith did not have any such win in his entire career. Initially No. 14 on the alternate list, the 156th-ranked Australia benefited from a flurry of withdrawals and became the last direct acceptance into the main draw. To say Smith has made the most of his opportunity would be an understatement. The former University of Tennessee star upset countryman Bernard Tomic then took out Jared Donaldson and Tatsuma Ito. This may be where Smith’s run ends, as Ram could not be more confident at this event and has at least some experience at this point of ATP tournaments–especially in Newport.
Pick: Ram in 2
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