KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) Nick Kyrgios won the key points in both tiebreakers to beat third-seeded Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) Friday in the quarterfinals of the Malaysian Open.
Kyrgios served 11 aces, two less than Karlovic as both players held serve throughout the match.
''I knew today was going to be tough,'' Kyrgios said. ''I thought I stayed composed and today was a really good performance.''
The 20-year-old Kyrgios will play second-seeded Feliciano Lopez, who needed two hours to beat eighth-seeded Vasek Pospisil 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2.
''I think I played a great match,'' Lopez said. ''Even though I lost the first set, I was getting better and better as the match went on.''
Benjamin Becker upset fourth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 7-6 (3) and will take on David Ferrer in the other semifinal after the top-seeded Spaniard defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-4.