Karlovic beats Johnson, into Citi Open final

5:07 PM ET

WASHINGTON — Ivo Karlovic’s big serve carried him to a second consecutive final at age 37, earning a 6-4, 6-4 victory over fifth-seeded American Steve Johnson at the Citi Open on Saturday.

The 6-foot-11 Karlovic, a Croatian seeded 13th at the hard-court tournament, saved all five break points he faced in the semifinals. He has won all 43 of his service games this week.

“This is my game. This is my strength,” Karlovic said in an on-court interview. “I will never run like he does.”

He broke Johnson in the third game of each set, each time right after saving break points on his own serve.

“It’s definitely frustrating when you have chances, you don’t take them, and you lose your focus for a second and you lose serve,” said Johnson, who eliminated top-seeded John Isner in the quarterfinals. “And that’s the margin when you play a guy (like) Ivo, (who) pretty much only has a serve.”

Karlovic will face No. 2-seeded Gael Monfils of France or No. 7 Alexander Zverev of Germany in Sunday’s final.

Last week, at the grass-court tournament in Newport, Rhode Island, Karlovic became the oldest man since 1979 to win an ATP singles title.

“I believe it’s (because of) hard work and also because I didn’t begin very young,” who was 21 when he turned pro. “I’m not as used up as my age would suggest.”

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