Newport: Lleyton Hewitt is getting a third shot at a title at the Hall of Fame Championships. The third-seeded Hewitt will face hard-serving Ivo Karlovic of Croatia in the final on Sunday.
Karlovic ousted Samuel Groth of Australia 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday. Hewitt, who lost in the 2013 final to Nicolas Mahut, beat seventh-seeded Jack Sock of the United States 6-1, 6-2.
Hewitt also dropped the 2012 final, losing to John Isner and his big serve.
"There's not a lot I can do until I go out there and play," Hewitt said of getting ready for Karlovic. "I'm not going to find a lot of 7-foot guys to come and serve at me. The last couple of years I've played pretty good against Isner here."
Hewitt ousted two-time champ Isner in last year's semis. He'll also be in the doubles final after his singles.
The matches were played after the induction ceremonies for a five-person class for the International Tennis Hall of Fame, highlighted by Lindsay Davenport.
Davenport entered the hall with five-time Paralympic medalist Chantal Vandierendonck in the recent player category. Coach Nick Bollettieri, executive Jane Brown Grimes and broadcaster John Barrett were inducted from the contributor category during a 90-minute ceremony on Newport's grass courts.
Hewitt is looking for his 30th career ATP title, and Karlovic his sixth in the oldest-ages final in the 38-year history of the tournament.
The other semi was a matchup of two hard servers, with many in the mid-130 mph(209 kph) range.
"The reality is the guy's 6-foot-11," Groth said. "I don't think he's going to scamper around the court like Lleyton did in his prime. The guy's one of the best servers ever, if not probably the best serve on tour at the moment."
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