MONTERREY, October 7, 2018

At 39 years, seven months, Ivo Karlovic has become the oldest finalist in the history of the ATP Challenger Tour. The No. 4 seed from Croatia sets a championship clash against Spanish veteran David Ferrer at the Abierto GNP Seguros on Sunday.

Karlovic fired 28 aces to rally past Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3). The World No. 137 finished the encounter after two hours and 14 minutes.

Ferrer received a walkover into the final, as his US-American Ernesto Escobedo was forced to withdraw from his match with the Spaniard due to a right wrist injury.

Ferrer leads 4-1 over Karlovic in the pair’s head-to-head record. The former World No. 3 from Jávea also won their last meeting in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour event in Doha 2015. Karlovic could lift his seventh ATP Challenger career trophy, his first since Tiburon 2011. Ferrer seeks his sixth ATP Challenger crown, his first since Manerbio 2002.