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NEWPORT, R.I. -- Ivo Karlovic charged the net, put his backhand shot over and knew he finally won the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.The second-seeded Karlovic, from Croatia, beat third-seeded Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (12) on Sunday in the longest deciding tiebreaker in the Open Era.The 37-year-old Karlovic lost in the final on Newports grass courts the previous two years. It was his seventh career ATP title.Hes the oldest to win an ATP event since Marty Riessen captured the title at Lafayette, Louisiana, at 37 years, 9 months in 1979. Karlovic turned 37 four months ago.I was able to put it over the net and there was a lot of joy after all these years I was losing in the finals, he said. I was finally able to do it. I was down to match point. That makes it even nicer.Karlovic fought off three match points and won it on his fifth match point, ending the final after two hours, 56 minutes.The 6-foot-11 Karlovic raised both arms in triumph, turned and blew kisses to the fans in his players box behind the baseline.Its awesome because when you lose like this in the last two years, you are down to match point, thoughts come into your head, Karlovic said. It was that much nicer.After losing the first set tiebreaker, he took a 6-5 edge in the second tiebreaker when Muller appeared to give up slightly on Karlovics overhead lob that feel inside the baseline.Karlovic then won the second set with a forehand winner.Muller smashed his racket in frustration during the changeover.In the third tiebreaker, both players came up with big shots before Muller hit a forehand long from close to the net, setting up the final point.I dont think I did that much wrong, Muller said. I think Ivo played great on all the match points. He served great. I won a couple of matches in the last few weeks where I was the lucky one, I wasnt the lucky one.Muller, 33, was looking for his first career ATP title.If I look back to the beginning of the week, I think, yeah, I would have been lucky with making the final, he said. Right now, its just too close.The tourney is played on the grounds of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and is held in conjunction with induction ceremonies. Marat Safin and Justine Henin headed the 2016 class that was enshrined Saturday with the semifinals.The Open Era began in 1968, when the Grand Slam events allowed professional players to compete with amateurs.NHL Jerseys 2020 Store . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. https://www.nhljerseys2020.com/ . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Wholesale NHL Jerseys 2020 . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. Buy NHL Jerseys 2020 . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night.More than two decades after the Finnish Flash took the NHL by storm, a generation of Finns is building on Teemu Selannes unforgettable legacy.Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets leads the NHL in goals at age 18 and is at the forefront of Finlands infusion of young talent. Between the Carolina Hurricanes Sebastian Aho, Florida Panthers Aleksander Barkov, Edmonton Oilers Jesse Puljujarvi and San Jose Sharks Joonas Donskoi, this is arguably the strongest wave of Finnish forwards the league has seen.Finland has a proud hockey program that produced Selanne, brothers Saku and Mikko Koivu and plenty of star defensemen and elite goaltenders. Now the Scandinavian country of 5.5 million people is churning out some of the fastest and most skilled young players around.There was a time, a couple of age groups, that we really didnt have any superstars, Finnish goaltender Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins said. We really didnt have any goal scorers or superstars coming. Now, its totally opposite. We have many of them coming up.Finland currently has as many NHL players (33) as it does indoor rinks, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation. By comparison, Canada has 3,250 rinks and the United States has 1,800.A country that big, you look at their sheer population and the numbers, its amazing the players theyre pumping out, Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. Developmentally, theyre doing something right over there thats leading to the success because its amazing based on the sheer numbers what theyre doing.Some of Finlands best are 21 and under, and three of the top five picks in the 2016 draft were Finns: Laine at No. 2, Puljujarvi at No. 4 and defenseman Olli Juolevi to the Vancouver Canucks at No. 5.Thats a long way from a weak 2009 draft that led the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to hold a summit, the result of which was a greater focus on individual skill development. Couple that with the influx of arenas to grow the game that followed Finlands win at the 1995 world championship, and Finland has made a national commitment to growing faster, more skilled players to stack up against the worlds best.Im really proud, Donskoi said. Its great to see that, I think, Finnish hockeys going the right direction.With 11 goals in his first 17 games, Laine is the poster boy for Finlands incredible strides. He has drawn comparisons to Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, a three-time MVP who said Laine could score 500 or 60 goals if he continues to improve.ddddddddddddhile Donskoi looked up to Selanne and the Koivu brothers, Laine considered Ovechkin his idol. Now he wants to be even better.I love the way he scores goals and he wants to score, but I dont want to be exactly like him, Laine said. Yeah, of course, he has an amazing shot and (hes) an amazing player, but I want to be myself. I have a lot to learn about everybody and take something from him, especially his shot. I think I have to grow that if I want to get to his level.Teammates think Laine has limitless potential, just like executives believe Barkov could be as good of a two-way player as three-time Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. Barkov is just 21.Hurricanes coach Bill Peters has raved about how NHL-ready Aho is at 19 -- well-rounded and committed to defense while also being able to pile up the points. Barkov credits coaches in Finland for developing smart players who dont just look to score.They do everything that youll grow up as a good player and a good sportsman, said Barkov, who had 59 points in 66 games last season. They help you a lot, especially in the junior national team. Have a lot of meetings -- tell us what to do and how to prepare for the games.Players from Finlands biggest rival, Sweden, cant help but notice the increase of top-end talent. Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom called this a special generation of Finns, and Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog believes its a good thing for the NHL and international hockey.Theyve always had such a good team, with the Koivus and Selannes and these guys, said Landeskog, whose Finnish teammate Mikko Rantanen was the 10th pick in 2015. Theyve always had a knack for putting out good goalies and now a lot of young guys coming up, too. I think its exciting.Despite being smaller in size and budget than Canada, the U.S., Russia and Sweden, Finland has medaled at four of five Olympics with NHL players and six of the past 11 world championships. Given Laine and Co., the future is even brighter.Its a really good generation we have coming out now, Rantanen said. We havent seen this kind of wave from Finland in a while.---AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver contributed---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno . ' ' '