Monfils to face Karlovic in Washington fi

WASHINGTON: France’s Gael Monfils, seeking his first ATP crown outside Europe, and Ivo Karlovic, nearing titles in consecutive weeks at age 37, advanced to the ATP and WTA Washington Open final in sweltering conditions Saturday.The 29-year-old Frenchman, whose most recent of five career titles came in 2014 at Montpellier, ripped ill German teen Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-0 in one hour.Croatia’s 35th-ranked Karlovic fired 14 aces to defeat US fifth seed Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-4 in a match where temperatures on the court reached 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 Celsius).Monfils has split four career ATP matches against Karlovic, winning their most recent meeting at Madrid in 2011 but losing their only prior hardcourt matchup in 2009 at Cincinnati.Karlovic, averaging 20 aces a match, has not surrendered a service break this week.Zverev, ranked a career-best 27th but sick with food poisoning, warned Monfils could test Karlovic with quick returns.Monfils, who seeks his first outdoor crown since Sopot in 2005, is 5-19 in ATP finals, including a 2011 loss at Washington to Radek Stepanek.Karlovic, 7-8 in ATP finals, won his seventh career title last week on Newport grass to become the oldest tour singles champion since 1979.Zverev, 19, smacked a forehand long to surrender the first set in 24 minutes and Monfils rolled from there.Belgian seventh seed Yanina Wickmayer, a 2009 US Open semi-finalist, battled through the heat to oust Kazakh sixth seed Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 6-2. Wickmayer seeks her fifth WTA title Sunday against America’s 122nd-ranked Lauren Davis, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over 173rd-rated American Jessica Pegula.Karlovic broke in the third game of the match and took the first set in 38 minutes, ending it like the second with back-to-back aces.In the third game of the second set, Karlovic rocketed a service return forehand winner past Johnson and then dropped a slice backhand winner on the line to break for a 2-1 lead.’