Anderson breaks 1,000-ace barrier in Vienna loss

VIENNA — Kevin Anderson went down to defeat in the Austria Open quarterfinals Friday but not before serving his way through the 1,000 ace barrier for the season. The second seeded South African hit 23 aces but still lost 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to Steve Johnson of the United States in a grueling two and three-quarter hour duel. Anderson now has 1,003 aces in 2015, joining Ivo Karlovic (1,321) and John Isner (1,162) in the 1,000-plus aces club. The result did nothing to help the South African's outside chances of snatching one of the two remaining places in the eight-man field for the World Tour Finals in London next month. Anderson, 29, entered Friday's match in provisional 11th place, but standing more than 1,100 computer points shy of a theoretical spot in the field. Vienna top seed David Ferrer, who occupies eighth place at the moment, beat Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-2. He trails seventh-placed Japan's Kei Nishikori who is currently sidelined with a recurring shoulder injury. Johnson, ranked 47 in the world, will be competing in his third semifinal of the season where he will face Latvia's Ernests Gulbis who knocked out seventh seed Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5). "Tennis is unpredictable, anything can happen," said Johnson after winning in front of an all-time record crowd for the Stadthalle of 9,100. Gulbis, who now stands outside the world top 100 after riding a career ranking roller-coaster, has rededicated himself to training after reuniting with Vienna-based coach Gunther Bresnik. Gulbis will be playing his first semifinal in more than a year after downing Karlovic, who lost despite 19 aces and 38 winners in a match without a break of serve. On Thursday, Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic defeated former champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, dealing a blow to the Frenchman's chances of qualifying for the ATP finals. Rosol next plays another Frenchman, sixth-seeded Gael Monfils, who defeated Paolo Lorenzi 6-4, 6-4 after breaking the Italian's serve twice in each set. — AFP