ATP World Tour stars hoping to reach the Grand Prix Hassan II final started their double shift on Saturday in Marrekech after rain washed out Friday’s play.

Two-time champion Pablo Andujar needed three sets to advance to the semi-finals, ending the surprise run of Russian qualifier Alexey Vatutin 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 on Saturday.

The champion in 2011 (d. Starace) and 2012 (d. Ramos-Vinolas), reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final since Barcelona in 2015 (l. to Nishikori) after two hours and 47 minutes to improve his tournament record to 13-2. Vatutin was bidding to reach his first tour-level semi-final after securing his first two wins on tour to reach the quarter-finals.

Andujar will face Portugal’s Joao Sousa later in the day, after the 29-year-old overcame Nikoloz Gabashvili 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. Sousa defeated Top 10 stars Alexander Zverev and David Goffin last month in Indian Wells and Miami respectively.

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France’s Richard Gasquet booked his place in the final four, needing exactly two hours to extend his perfect FedEx ATP Head2Head record to 8-0 against countryman Gilles Simon 6-2, 7-6(4). The fourth seed edged a second-set tie-break to beat the 2008 champion, in a match featuring 12 breaks of serve, and book a semi-final meeting with Kyle Edmund. Gasquet is aiming to reach his second championship match of the season (Montpellier).

Edmund won his 10th match of the 2018 ATP World Tour season by overcoming, Malek Jaziri, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semi-finalist, 6-2, 6-1 in 51 minutes on Court Central.

The 23-year-old, dropped only three points behind his first serve and converted all four of his break point chances en route to the semi-finals, and now stands just one win away from his first ATP World Tour final. Edmund and Gasquet are tied at 1-1 in their FedExATP Head2Head series.

Did You Know?
Pablo Andujar is one of just two men to win multiple titles at the Grand Prix Hassan II. Andujar won back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012, with Guillermo Perez-Roldan the only other two-time winner (1992- ’93).

Novak Djokovic has reunited with his long-time former coach Marian Vajda for the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, which begins on Sunday. Vajda has been helping the former World No. 1 in his preparations for the European clay-court swing.

Djokovic and Vajda trained at the Pepe Imaz Academy in Marbella, Spain, last week and on Thursday morning Djokovic hit with fellow Monte-Carlo resident Grigor Dimitrov on Court Rainier III. On Saturday, the Serbian practiced for two hours with David Goffin during a session that was watched courtside by Vajda and former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic.

Vajda coached Djokovic between June 2006 and May 2017.

The 30-year-old Djokovic, who captured the Monte-Carlo title in 2013 and 2015, is looking to rebuild his confidence this week. He has compiled a 3-3 record this year following a right elbow injury.

This week, Djokovic will compete in the same half of the Monte-Carlo draw by 10-time champion Rafael Nadal.

Max Mirnyi had faced Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan plenty before taking the court Friday evening at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston. In fact, the Belarusian had played the brothers 54 times (31-23), and lost nine of their past 10 FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings. 

But despite the 39-year-olds carrying a seven-match winning streak into the semi-final, Mirnyi and partner Philipp Oswald were too good on the night, ousting the recent Miami Open presented by Itaú champions 6-4, 2-6, 10/6.  

The Belarusian-Austrian duo dropped two of their first three service points in the Super Tie-break, but rallied from 4/3 down to win seven of the match’s final nine points, advancing to the final. This year’s New York Open champions will face Andre Begemann and Antonio Sancic for the title. The German-Croatian pair battled past wild cards Dustin Brown and Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 3-6, 10/7 to reach their first ATP World Tour championship match as a team. 

Begemann and Sancic had never played together prior to arriving at the River Oaks Country Club, and they only played against each other once on the ATP World Tour. Begemann owns four tour-level titles, while Sancic seeks his maiden trophy. 

Did You Know?
Mirnyi earned his 1,000th victory in January before reaching his 100th final (both milestones are singles and doubles combined) in February at the New York Open. He played with Oswald on both occasions. 

John Isner coolly steps to the baseline like he has thousands of times before. He bounces the ball between the legs of his 6’10” frame, and then again off the court three times with his racquet, and four times with his hand. Just as he lifts his left arm to toss the ball into the air, slightly in front of him, his racquet-wielding right arm begins its own upward motion simultaneously. The 32-year-old eventually launches toward the sky and at the last moment, Isner turns his wrist so the stringbed meets the ball, producing a devastating result.

Isner sends the ball flying as if he is wielding Thor’s hammer. The result is a blazing 138 mile-per-hour ace down the ‘T’ on a mild Houston night.

In fact, that ace on Friday in the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship quarter-finals to start the fourth game of the deciding set (1-2) against defending champion Steve Johnson gave Isner 10,000 for his career. The American is one of just four players in history to enter the elite club, joining Ivo Karlovic (12,622), Roger Federer (10,463) and Goran Ivanisevic (10,131). After the history-making ace, there was a slight delay as the ball was passed to chair umpire Simon Cannavan for safekeeping.

So, how did Isner get to that milestone?

According to the World No. 9, he has made very few if any changes to his serve over the years. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it, right?

“That’s something that fortunately for me I picked up at a very early age. I’m sure if I watched footage of myself in college, my serve’s a little bit different,” Isner told ATPWorldTour.com. “But for the most part, maybe I used to move my front foot a little bit. I used to start back, take a step forward. My front foot stays still now. But the overall motion hasn’t changed a bit. I’ve seen footage of me as a freshman in high school, it’s the same serve.”

It has certainly done its job over the years. Isner has led the ATP World Tour in aces six times (2010-13, 2016-17) according to Infosys ATP Scores & Stats, striking over 1,000 aces in a season on five occasions (2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017). That all led him to his 19th ace of the day against Johnson to reach the extraordinary milestone.

“I’m joining a pretty small club. It’s very cool,” Isner said. “It shows how fortunate I’ve been to be able to stay on the court for this long.”

Only one player, Karlovic, has broken the 11,000-ace mark. The Croatian has hit 12,622 aces in his career. Only the 39-year-old has hit more aces per tour-level match than Isner.

“He has a little bit different serve than me, he stays back more after it so after, he’s able to hit his forehands,” Karlovic told ATPWorldTour.com. “But it’s a pretty similar bounce, pretty similar angles. It’s also a really good serve.”

The big question is, how has Isner managed to find his best serving under the greatest of pressure? When the American clinched his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title on 1 April at the Miami Open presented by Itaú to become the oldest first-time champion at that level, he did so with an ace.

“When I feel loose, when I’m not thinking and you have a lot of adrenaline,” Isner said. “Adrenaline does everything for you… I can go through a match and not hit a serve over let’s say 132 and then I’m serving for the match and next thing I know I’m in the 140s. That’s just what it does.”

It has worked for Isner for years, and it doesn’t appear he is slowing down. The American is third on the ATP World Tour in aces so far this season.

“If I can reach 10,000,” Isner said. “Hopefully I can get to 11,000.”

All-Time ATP World Tour Aces Leaders

As part of Infosys ATP Match Stats, ATP began recording ace tallies in 1991. The tally comprises aces hit in singles main draw matches from ATP World Tour tournaments, Grand Slams and the Olympics (from 2008 on). Aces in Davis Cup competition are not included.

#NextGenATP American Taylor Fritz had never made an ATP World Tour semi-final on clay before this week. In fact, he had only played three clay-court matches combined on the ATP World Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour prior to his Houston debut. But judging by his play Friday, you wouldn’t know it.

The 20-year-old battled back from a 4-2 deficit in the deciding set to oust 2015 winner Jack Sock 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship and move into the semi-finals.

“I felt like it could really go either way. I just had to get back in it,” Fritz said. “I just stayed with it and was able to come up [good] on the points that mattered.”

The victory snaps a six-match ATP World Tour quarter-final losing streak for the American, who is now 7-1 in tour-level three-set matches this year. The World No. 72, who saved two match points in the first round against another compatriot, Tim Smyczek, avenged two previous five-set losses against the third-seeded Sock, triumphing in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting on clay.

Fritz is now 8-3 in tour-level matches this season and 22-6 at all levels, as he continues pursuing his maiden ATP World Tour title, after breaking through as an 18-year-old to reach the Memphis final two years ago. 

“In Memphis I think I was just playing so well for that stretch. I was just playing so far above the level I actually was at. I was playing out of my mind,” Fritz said. “Now I feel like I’m playing very within myself and playing to a level I know I can always be playing at… I’m a lot more ready. I’m a lot better of a player than I was.”

Fritz will next play one of two former American champions at this event — top-seeded John Isner (2013) or No. 6 seed Steve Johnson (2017). Fritz has lost both of his FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Isner, while defeating Johnson en route to his maiden ATP World Tour final at 2016 Memphis. The California native is the only player remaining who has gone the distance in each of his matches in Houston this week at the River Oaks Country Club.

Did You Know?
Fritz has now won both of his Top 20 matches this season, also beating Sam Querrey at the Delray Beach Open.

Ivo Karlovic said he was happy after his opening-round win for various reasons, including earning his first victory as a 39-year-old. Three days later, he has done a lot more than that.

The Croatian beat fourth seed Nick Kyrgios 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 Friday at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship to become the oldest player to advance to an ATP World Tour semi-final since Jimmy Connors at 1993 San Francisco. The right-hander was already the oldest quarter-finalist at Houston in the Open Era.

“It’s definitely a huge win. I lost against him every match up until now,” said Karlovic, the 2007 Houston titlist. “I’m really happy that I won today.”

Kyrgios had previously owned a 4-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head series lead against Karlovic, but the World No. 88 hit 18 aces and was not broken after his first service game in the match. The eight-time ATP World Tour champion last reached a final last year in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Muller). 

Karlovic will look to change that when he plays American Tennys Sandgren, the No. 8 seed, who came from a break down in the third set to oust Argentine Guido Pella 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours, 19 minutes to reach his first ATP World Tour semi-final. A year ago this week, Sandgren qualified for his first Tour main draw at the River Oaks Country Club.

“I was proud of myself for just sticking it out and keeping myself around and doing everything I could to keep the scoreline close,” Sandgren said. “It seemed like, from my end of the court at least, that he was doing a lot better job of handling the conditions on the clay than I was… I was really frustrated and thinking that obviously, it’s not looking good from here.”

Pella served for the match at 6-4, 5-4, but the World No. 56 broke twice in a row — his first two breaks of serve in the match — to force a decider. And from there, he broke twice more to earn his third victory of the week — Sandgren owned two tour-level wins in his career prior to this season. 

“I was watching his match a little bit today,” Karlovic said of Sandgren. “He has a really good baseline [game] and he’s a strong guy, so it will be a really difficult match.”

Did You Know?
Karlovic, who became the oldest ATP World Tour semi-finalist since Jimmy Connors at 1993 San Francisco, can become the oldest finalist since Ken Rosewall, 43, won the 1977 Hong Kong title.

Rafael Nadal has a tough task if he is to lift an 11th trophy at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, with three players in the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings and also two-time former champion Novak Djokovic in his half of the draw, following the ceremony at the Atrium du Casino de Monte-Carlo on Friday. The Spanish star, who is attempting to capture his 54th clay-court crown, will need to potentially beat Dominic Thiem or Djokovic, before a possible semi-final against Grigor Dimitrov or David Goffin.

Nadal, who will meet Aljaz Bedene or a qualifier in the second round, could face Adrian Mannarino in the third round, prior to a quarter-final against 2013 and 2015 titlist Djokovic or Thiem. Nadal lost to Djokovic in the 2013 Monte-Carlo final, ending a 46-match winning streak at the tournament. The World No. 1 beat Thiem in last year’s Barcelona Open Banc Sababell and Mutua Madrid Open finals, plus also in the Roland Garros semi-finals. But Thiem did overcome Nadal in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia quarter-finals in May 2017.

“I always feel good when I am here, it is one of my favourite tournaments,” admitted Nadal, during the draw ceremony that was hosted by Zeljko Franulovic, the Tournament Director of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and the 1970 champion (d. Orantes). “It’s been a love story between me and this event, the people who run the tournament. I saw this tournament on the TV before I started playing here and always wanted to do well. These sorts of tournaments help me to wake up in the morning and to train and compete with a lot of passion.”

The 31-year-old Nadal, who has a 63-4 record at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, has an incredible 319-35 record (.918) on clay courts according to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone. He is riding a 10-match winning streak at the event, but should he not retain the trophy Roger Federer will return to No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, for his 309th week in top spot, on 23 April.

View Monte-Carlo Singles Draw

Nadal and Djokovic have both captured a record 30 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns. Monte-Carlo resident Djokovic, the ninth seed this week, will face a qualifier in his first match, before a possible second-round meeting against Filip Krajinovic or Paolo Lorenzi. Fifth seed Thiem, who opens against Andrey Rublev or Robin Haase, may then lie in wait for Djokovic in the third round.

Second seed Marin Cilic, a quarter-finalist in 2015 and 2017, will begin his quest for a second Masters 1000 title (2017 Western & Southern Open), against 2010 runner-up Fernando Verdasco or Pablo Cuevas. In the same quarter of the draw, No. 12 seed and 2015 finalist Tomas Berdych will meet Kei Nishikori in a must-see opener.

Third seed Alexander Zverev, who has a 3-2 record in the Principality, will challenge Gilles Muller or a qualifier in the second round as he bids to lift a third Masters 1000 trophy (also 2017 Rome and Rogers Cup in Montreal). Seventh seed Lucas Pouille, who advanced to his first Masters 1000 semi-final last year (l. to Ramos-Vinolas), takes on Mischa Zverev or wild card Felix Auger-Aliassime.