Basilashvili knocks off top seed for second week in a row

World No. 67-ranked Nikoloz Basilashvili first shot onto the scene when he became the first Georgian to ever reach an ATP World Tour final last July in Kitzbuhel. The 24-year-old is now busy making an even bigger name for himself, beating some of the best players in the world, in consecutive weeks.

Tasked with facing the most daunting server in the world—world No. 20-ranked Ivo Karlovic—on an indoor hard court, Basilashvili cruised through a first-set tiebreaker before breaking in the second set to take out Memphis’ top seed in straight sets.

With the win, the flashy right-hander is virtually guaranteed that he will reach a career-high ranking next Monday. Don't call him a one-hit wonder though; it's the second week in a row that Basilashvili stunned a top seed.

Last week in Sofia, Basilashvili shocked world No. 8 Dominic Thiem in just 78 minutes.

The Georgian then recovered from a first-set bagel against Martin Klizan to reach his second career tour-level semifinal, where he lost to eventual champion Grigor Dimitrov.

Basilashvili is trying to match and perhaps surpass the achievements of Georgia’s Irakli Labadze, who reached No. 42 in the world and made the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2006.

While Basilashvili has lost in the first round in five of the six Grand Slam main draws he has contested (his best run was the third round of Wimbledon in 2015), his recent fine form hints at greater success to come.