Defending champ Karlovic wins at Nottingham
NOTTINGHAM, England -- Defending champion Ivo Karlovic defeated Andreas Seppi 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the Nottingham Open semifinals.
The fourth-seeded Karlovic will face No. 8 Gael Monfils, who ousted American Vincent Spadea 7-6 (4), 6-2 at the Wimbledon warmup tournament.
Monfils won their only previous meeting in Monte Carlo two months ago but that was on clay, Karlovic's least-favorite surface.
"For sure it will be tough, but I'm not thinking about it for now," Monfils said.
Third-seeded Fernando Verdasco also won a place in the semifinals, beating No. 5 Gilles Simon 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
The Spaniard will meet unseeded Marin Cilic of Croatia, who won 21 of his 22 first serves in routing Thomas Johansson of Sweden 6-1, 6-2.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
