Ivo Karlovic looks to reach his second Houston final when he takes on Ryan Sweeting in the last four tonight.
2007 champion Karlovic came back from the brink to beat John Isner 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 in a Friday afternoon thriller, saving two match points against the second seed. Previous encounters between the two had lacked drama but the tallest men on the tour certainly delivered this time round with a tense encounter which Karlovic eventually edged 11-9 in the final set tiebreak.
Karlovic's ace tally for the tournament (excluding the qualifying rounds) currently stands at 44 and if he wins the title he may just beat Pete Sampras' all-time record of 60.
Sweeting reached his first main tour semi-final with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Russia's Teymuraz Gabashvili. Sweeting stunned third seed Sam Querrey earlier in the week and is in the form of his life but the way Karlovic is serving, it's hard to see the American progressing any further.
Prediction: Karlovic in two
