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WASHINGTON -- Even Ivo Karlovic willingly admits that whatever success he has on a tennis court is due mainly to his big serve.Well, that one stroke is in fine form at the moment, and so is Karlovic, closing in on a second consecutive title at age 37.Karlovic saved all five break points he faced Saturday and ran his service-game record to 43 for 43 this week, beating fifth-seeded American Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-4 to reach the Citi Open final.This is my game. This is my strength, said the 6-foot-11 Karlovic, a Croatian seeded 13th at the hard-court tournament.He broke Johnson in the third game of each set, right after saving break points on his own serve.Its definitely frustrating when you have chances, you dont take `em, and you lose your focus for a second and you lose serve, said Johnson, a 26-year-old from California who eliminated top-seeded John Isner in the quarterfinals. And thats the margin when you play a guy (like) Ivo, (who) pretty much only has a serve.Karlovic will face No. 2-seeded Gael Monfils on Sunday. Monfils, the 2011 runner-up at Washington, advanced by breaking No. 7 Alexander Zverev four times in a 6-4, 6-0 victory that lasted only an hour.Zverev said afterward he had been throwing up and was dehydrated, attributing the problem to something he ate and adding: Its not like I didnt try.Monfils reached the 25th final of his career, but hes only won five in the past. He is 2-2 against Karlovic, but they havent faced each other in five years.Ivo is the same, said Monfils, who has accumulated 15 breaks of serve this week. You know what to expect.In the womens semifinals, No. 7 Yanina Wickmayer beat No. 6 Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 6-2, and 122nd-ranked Lauren Davis defeated 173rd-ranked Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-3 in a matchup of 22-year-old Americans. Wickmayer, who teamed with Monica Niculescu to win the doubles title Saturday, will be appearing in her 11th WTA singles final, while Davis -- who was born in Ohio and is based in Florida -- will be in her first.Last week, at the grass-court tournament in Newport, Rhode Island, Karlovic became the oldest man since 1979 to win an ATP singles title. Now he is into another final, the 16th of his career. He is 7-8 so far.In my old age, Karlovic joked, it is good when you can reach your goals.Since losing his first six matches of 2016, Karlovic has gone 16-7.His game is based on his serve, which comes at opponents from way up high and gets quite a bounce on Washingtons hard courts, especially in the July heat. The temperature approached 100 degrees Saturday, prompting Karlovic to say afterward: There was this moment where I wanted to lay down.In the 25 years that ATP service stats cover, Karlovic leads the tour with more than 11,000 aces and by winning 92 percent of his service games. He hit 14 aces Saturday, including at 134 mph and 132 mph on the last two points.Johnson serves well, too, and he came into the semifinal having held in all 32 of his service games, saving 7 of 7 break points.Those streaks did not last long.In Johnsons second service game, less than 15 minutes in, he missed a shot at deuce to hand over a break point and angrily smacked a ball. Then, with both men at the net, Karlovic lunged for a backhand volley winner to go up 2-1.In the second set, Karlovic broke by delivering back-to-back return winners.After the match, Johnson took to Twitter to respond to some of the meaner messages he received. Among Johnsons choice phrases: Learn English so we know what you are trying to say and you are an idiot.Asked at his news conference about the exchanges, Johnson said he doesnt take it seriously, whatsoever and considers those sending pointed messages his way useless human beings.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Adrian Houser Jersey . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Cecil Cooper Jersey . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. 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EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Oilers will feature something old and something new when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.The old: Coach Todd McLellan has reunited NHL leading scorer Connor McDavid (39 points) with Milan Lucic (22 points) and Jordan Eberle (23 points) as the Oilers No. 1 line. That trio was together at the start of the season and has been brought back together. McDavid has just one point in his last three games; Eberle is pointless in his last two. So, this move is about recharging players the Oilers need to score.Hes (McDavid) a fun player to play with, said Eberle. I think were just trying to find some chemistry again. I think we started off the season pretty well and weve played a lot together. We know each others tendencies and it should be good.The new: The Oilers called up Taylor Beck from their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, Calif; Beck leads the AHL in scoring, with 30 points so far this season.Hell probably play in the bottom six, but hes a big body that protects pucks well and, right now, hes got it going offensively at that level, said McLellan. It doesnt always parlay into the National Hockey League level, but he feels good about his game offensively, and the other side of the puck as well.The Oilers have lost five out of their last seven, but three of those defeats have come in either overtime or the shootout. Getting a couple of extra goals into the lineup could mean a lot to a team that plays a lot of close games.The Oilers also had the luxury of three off days since Tuesdays 3-1 loss to the red-hot Columbbus Blue Jackets.dddddddddddd.Were fresh, were energized and we got to polish some things up, said McLellan.While the Oilers have had some time to rest, the NHL schedule maker hasnt been kind to the Lightning. The team won in Calgary on Wednesday night. But, instead of making the easy trip north to Edmonton, the Lightning got on the 90-minute flight to Vancouver, lost 4-2 to the Canucks Friday night, then have to jet back to Alberta to face the Oilers Saturday.Zig-zagging makes a tough trip through Western Canada even tougher. As well, Nikita Kucherov is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He missed Wednesdays win over Calgary and Fridays loss to Vancouver. Kucherov leads the Lightning with 30 points. With sniper Steven Stamkos out long-term, the Lightning are piecing together their offensive pieces.Left winger Ondrej Palat also missed the Vancouver game after suffering an undisclosed injury against Calgary.Were on an unfortunate run of late, coming down with our injuries, said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. If theres ever a time for guys to step up, its right now.Weve got to get our strength here, because were playing an Edmonton team that hasnt played since Tuesday.Defenseman Anton Stralman said it will be up to the blueliners to be the ones who do that stepping up.It doesnt matter how good an offense you have unless you have the defense to carry out things in the back. We build a lot of offense from our defending, too. ' ' '