Memphis - Croatian fifth seed Ivo Karlovic has advanced to the second round of the ATP Memphis Open on Tuesday, blasting 23 aces to defeat Slovakian Lukas Lacko 7-6 (9/7), 6-3.
Karlovic, ranked 25th, had won their only prior meeting in the first round at Wimbledon in 2009. The big-serving 35-year-old will next face either Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin or US qualifier Austin Krajicek.
Also booking a date in the round of 16 was Australian Bernard Tomic, who rallied to oust Dutchman Igor Sijsling 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Tomic, a 22-year-old German-born Aussie ranked 49th in the world, surrendered two service breaks in the opening set but saved 5-of-6 break points over the final two sets while breaking four times, three in the final set.
Tomic, who also won their first meeting last month at Sydney, advanced to a matchup with Ukranian fourth seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, who received a first-round bye along with Japanese top seed Kei Nishikori, South African second seed Kevin Anderson and US third seed John Isner.
Results on Tuesday from the second day of the ATP Memphis Open (x denotes seed):
First round
Bernard Tomic (AUS) bt Igor Sijsling (NED) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Ivo Karlovic (CRO x5) bt Lukas Lacko (SVK) 7-6 (9/7), 6-3