Ivo Karlovic is up to his old tricks again at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport. The 39-year-old Croatian saved a match point against 19-year-old Aussie Alex de Minaur on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the season’s final grass-court tournament 6-7(2), 7-6(3), 7-5.

Karlovic was serving at 4-5, 30/40 in the third set when De Minaur saw a second serve but netted it. The three-time grass-court titlist took advantage, breaking the #NextGenATP right-hander the next game and later serving it out to 15.

“He was playing well. I didn’t really feel the ball [well]. I was missing a lot but I was hanging in there,” Karlovic said. “[The match point] was a second serve. I hit it well, and he was not able to return it so I was happy about it.”

The 6’11” Croatian saved three championship points during the 2016 Newport final to claim his first Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open title (d. Muller).

Karlovic will next face Israel’s Dudi Sela, who upset Aussie Bernard Tomic, a 2011 Wimbledon quarter-finalist, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Sela dropped only five first-serve points (29/34) in the 65-minute first-round contest.

It will be a match of contrasting heights: Karlovic is 6’11”; Sela 5’9”. The taller of the two has won all six of their FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, but there’ are no hard feelings from Sela. The last time they played, in 2014 Bogota, they hugged it out.

Sixth seed and 2016 finalist Gilles Muller landed less than half of his first serves but found a way to beat Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(5), 6-3.

Read More: The Two People Who Push Muller To Success

“Tough match, like always against Marcos… It was a little bit up and down but the most important thing was to get through,” said Muller, who improved to 2-3 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Muller will next meet Spain’s Marcel Granollers, who beat American qualifier JC Aragone 7-6(6), 6-0.

American wild card Christian Harrison edged Aussie qualifier Alex Bolt 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to set a second-round meeting with third seed Steve Johnson of the U.S.

Harrison’s older brother, fifth seed Ryan Harrison, retired down 2-6, 0-2 to France’s Nicolas Mahut, a four-time grass-court champion, including Newport in 2013.

“Many good memories from here,” Mahut said. “I really enjoy the tournament.”

#NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime earned his second tour-level win on Tuesday, beating Andrej Martin 6-3, 6-3 at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.

The 17-year-old Montreal native, who recorded his first tour-level victory against Vasek Pospisil at the BNP Paribas Open, converted four of six break-point chances and won 60 per cent of second-serve return points to set a meeting with defending champion and 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up Andrey Rublev. Fourth-seeded Rublev is making his first return to action after a three-month injury absence, dating back to the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Marton Fucsovics snapped a three-match losing streak to upset eighth seed Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-3 in 74 minutes. The Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open titlist created 10 break-point opportunities, converting seven, en route to victory. Fucsovics, now 15-14 this season, will next face qualifier Marco Trungelliti of Argentina, who beat Croatian wild card Franko Skugor 6-3, 6-4.

Robin Haase made a successful return to Umag, coming from a set down to beat Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours and seven minutes.

Haase, who last appeared at the Croatian event in 2011, landed 10 aces and won 68 per cent of service points to set a second-round meeting against Slovakian qualifier Martin Klizan, who dismised Nicolas Jarry 6-2, 6-0. The 31-year-old Haase is bidding to reach the quarter-finals for the first time, having lost in the second round on both his previous visits.

Maximilian Marterer rallied from a set down to beat Croatian wild card Nino Serdarusic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. The BMW Open by FWU semi-finalist fired nine aces and did not face a break point after dropping the first set. The German, seeded ninth, will meet Laslo Djere in the second round. Djere overcame 2014 champion Pablo Cuevas 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 on Monday.

Did You Know?
Carlos Moya is the most successful player in Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag history. The Spaniard won five titles at the event between 1996 and 2007, including three consecutive triumphs from 2001 to 2003.

Fernando Verdasco notched his 20th victory at the SkiStar Swedish Open on Tuesday, defeating Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

Both men entered the first-round contest with as many wins as losses at tour-level in 2018, but it was two-time finalist Verdasco who improved to 18-17 for the year after two hours and three minutes. The fifth seed won 85 per cent of first-serve points and converted three of seven break point chances to hand Sonego a fifth defeat in nine tour-level clashes this year.

Verdasco will face Pedro Sousa for a quarter-final spot. The Lisbon native overcame Radu Albot 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 37 minutes.

Defending champion David Ferrer also booked his place in the second round, beating ATP World Tour debutant Zdenek Kolar 6-2, 7-5.

The seventh seed, who has lifted the trophy in Bastad on three occasions, saved six of seven break points to advance after one hour and 31 minutes. Ferrer eased to a one-set lead, but was made to work hard in the second set by Kolar, who qualified for his first tour-level event without dropping a set.

The 36-year-old will need to overcome #NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud in the second round. Ruud defeated fellow #NextGenATP star Jaume Munar 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-0 on Monday.

No. 8 seed John Millman needed just 51 minutes to join Verdasco and Ferrer in the second round, cruising past Guido Andreozzi 6-0, 6-2. Millman won 28 of 33 service points and converted five of six break opportunities to progress.

Millman will meet Federico Delbonis in the second round. The Argentine came from a set down to beat countryman Horacio Zeballos 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-2.

Swedish wild card Mikael Ymer saved all five break points he faced in an 80-minute 6-3, 6-3 triumph over 2015 quarter-finalist Denis Istomin. But brother Elias Ymer could not join him in the second round, as Brazilian Thiago Monteiro scored a 6-4, 6-2 win over the 22-year-old after 73 minutes.

“I played very solid,” said Mikael Ymer. “Thinking about the circumstances, playing at home and really wanting the win, I played pretty well. It is never easy. You want to win more than anything… For a first round, it is a very positive win.”

Did You Know?
In the past 16 editions of the SkiStar Swedish Open, the title has been captured by a Spaniard on nine occasions. Defending champion David Ferrer (3) and Tommy Robredo (2) have won multiple titles, while Carlos Moya, Rafael Nadal, Nicolas Almagro and Albert Ramos-Vinolas have also lifted the trophy in recent years.

Fans got a glimpse of the future on Monday at the SkiStar Swedish Open when #NextGenATP wild cards collided. And after two thrilling sets, Norwegian Casper Ruud pulled away to defeat Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-0 after two hours, 38 minutes.

The youngest player in the field at 19 years old, Ruud saved six of seven break points to earn his seventh tour-level victory of the season. Ruud can face three-time Bastad champion David Ferrer in the second round, should the Spaniard oust qualifier Zdenek Kolar in his opener. World No. 147 Ruud will try to reach his second ATP World Tour quarter-final, after making the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro last year.

In the only other singles main draw match of the day, Italian Matteo Berrettini upset No. 6 seed Leonardo Mayer 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours, seven minutes in the pair’s first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

The 22-year-old Berrettini is at a career-best No. 75 in the ATP Rankings, having won his first six tour-level matches this season. He has also reached two ATP Challenger Tour finals in 2018, triumphing in Bergamo, Italy. He will next play Portugal’s Gastao Elias or Argentine qualifier Juan Ignacio Londero.

Top Two Doubles Seeds Advance
The top two seeds in the Bastad doubles draw were tested on Monday, but both teams pulled through Match Tie-breaks. No. 1 seeds Max Mirnyi and Philipp Oswald, who captured titles in New York and Houston earlier in the season, beat Roberto Carballes Baena and Federico Delbonis 6-3, 1-6, 10-8. Second seeds Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos advanced past Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.

Did You Know?
Ruud’s father, Christian, reached the final in Bastad in 1995, losing in his lone ATP World Tour championship match against Fernando Meligeni.

Denis Kudla continued his strong grass-court season on Monday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Ruben Bemelmans at the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open. The American won 88 per cent of first-serve points and broke his Belgian doubles partner three times in the 61-minute match to advance to the second round in Newport for the fourth time.

“It was an awesome match for me. I served really well, high first-serve percentage,” Kudla said. “It’s always tough playing your doubles partner, but someone’s got to win.”

The eighth seed made his first tour-level semi-final since 2015 Atlanta at the Gerry Weber Open, where he tested top seed Roger Federer in a straight-sets defeat. The 25-year-old, who cracked the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings for the first time in nearly two years on 25 June, will next face Indian Ramkumar Ramanathan or a qualifier.

Canadian Vasek Pospisil took a 2-1 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against home favourite Donald Young, losing just six first-serve points in a 7-6(5), 6-1 victory. The World No. 98 is competing on the Rhode Island grass for the first time since 2013, and will next face recent Nature Valley International champion Mischa Zverev, the second seed. 

“It was a tough one, tough conditions. It’s pretty hot,” Pospisil said. “I’ve worked hard this year trying to build my [ATP] Ranking back up, so this is just another little stepping zone just trying to get some confidence for the hard-court season. This will do me really good to get this win. I can really take a lot of positives out of this.”

Aussie Jordan Thompson also advanced on day one, ousting compatriot James Duckworth 6-4, 6-3 in 78 minutes to earn a meeting against top seed Adrian Mannarino, who is pursuing his maiden ATP World Tour title. Tim Smyczek beat fellow American Bjorn Fratangelo 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to set a clash against fourth seed Matthew Ebden.

Did You Know?
Kudla is now 18-16 on grass courts. His first three ATP World Tour victories came in Newport, reaching the second round in 2010 as a 17-year-old and the quarter-finals in 2011 as an 18-year-old, thanks to a win against the second seed that year, Grigor Dimitrov.