Ivo Karlovic won the Mexican Open Saturday night for his second ATP World Tour title of the year and eighth overall, beating top-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain 7-6 (5), 6-2. The 37-year-old Karlovic, from Croatia, was playing his third final in four events. He beat Gilles Muller at Newport, Rhode Island, and lost to Gael Monfils in Washington. With the hardcourt victory at Solaz Resort & Spa Los Cabos, the third-seeded Karlovic improved to 14-2 in his last 16 matches and upped his career record against Lopez to 6-3. The 34-year-old Lopez missed a chance for his second victory of the year and sixth overall. He won a clay-court event last month in Gstaad, Switzerland — the same week Karlovic won in Newport. In the doubles final, India's Purav Raja and Divij Sharan beat Israel's Jonathan Erlich and England's Ken Skupski 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3). Serena, Svitolina Cincy showdown likely Serena Williams will work to put the heartbreak of early Rio Olympic exits in singles and doubles behind her as she heads the women's field at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters. The tournament will be the last major test prior to the start of the US Open on Aug. 29, but falls directly after the Summer Games. Williams, who has won her last 10 matches at the venue after claiming the last two titles, will have to be on her guard. Her first opponent could be Elina Svitolina, who sent her crashing out of the Olympic tournament. Svitolina needs to beat world No. 60 Christina McHale in her opening match. The 34-year-old is being chased in the rankings by German world No. 2 Angelique Kerber, the Australian Open champion and Wimbledon finalist. Should Williams lose before the quarterfinals with Kerber claiming the title, then the longtime No. 1 from the US would find herself second in the world for the first time since February, 2013. Williams accepted a Cincinnati wild card from organizers just two days after losing in singles in Brazil and may use Cincinnati as a test for an apparent shoulder problem. All 16 women's seeds receive byes into the second round. Romanian Simona Halep, last year's losing finalist to Williams, takes the third seeding ahead of Spain's Garbine Muguruza and fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska. Freshly crowned Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig faces Louisa Chirico of the US in her first round match. Swiss world number 16 Belinda Bencic will play for the first time since Wimbledon, taking the 13th seeding after an injury recovery which cause her to miss Rio.
