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Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a Croatian former professional
Karlović debuted for the Croatian Davis Cup team in 2000 against
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint-tallest ranked tennis player in history (along with Reilly Opelka
Reilly Opelka (born 28 August 1997) is an American professional tennis player. At , he is tied (with Ivo Karlović) for the tallest-ever Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP-ranked player, and can produce serves that measure over . He has be ...
). He won eight ATP Tour
The ATP Tour (known as ATP World Tour between January 2009 and December 2018) is the sole worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) founded in 1990 that replaced the earlier dual Grand Prix ...
singles titles between 2007 and 2016. He was a serve-and-volleyer and officially held the record for the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h (156 mph), before being officially surpassed by John Isner
John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
in 2016. He was considered one of the best servers on tour, and held the record for career aces
An ace is a playing card.
Ace(s), ACE(S) and variants may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Awards
* ACE Awards (Award for Cable Excellence)
Comics
* ''Ace Comics'', a 1937-1959 comic book series
* Ace Magazines (comics), a 1940- ...
from 1991 onwards with 13,728 (not including Davis Cup) before the record was broken by Isner on July 1 2022. This makes him one of only five players since 1991 to surpass 10,000 aces. His height
Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is). For an example of vertical extent, "This basketball player is 7 foot 1 inches in height." For an e ...
enabled him to serve with high speed and unique trajectory.
Career
1995–1997: Juniors
Karlović played his first junior match in April 1995 at the age of 16 at a grade 3 tournament inCroatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
. He played only eight tournament throughout his junior career (four singles and four doubles). In singles, he defeated a 15-year-old Marat Safin
Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; ; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian former professional tennis player and former politician. He was ranked as the List of ...
at the 1995 Junior Davis Cup. In doubles, he was known for partnering future world No. 3 Ivan Ljubičić on numerous occasions.
Karlović ended his junior career with no ranking in both singles or doubles. He had an overall win–loss record of 3–5 in singles and 5–3 in doubles.
1998–2004: Pro Beginnings
Although not turning pro until 2000 at the age of 21, Karlović played his first ITF futures event in June 1998 and made two finals in August 1998 and September 1999, losing both. He played his first Challenger event in December 1999.
Karlović debuted for the Croatian Davis Cup team in 2000 against Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, where he won the dead rubber. Karlović appeared in a starting line-up for the first time in 2002 against Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
in Buenos Aires, but he lost to Juan Ignacio Chela
Juan Ignacio Chela (; born 30 August 1979), nicknamed as "El Flaco" or "Liliano," is a tennis coach and former professional player from Argentina. Chela was given a three-month ban from the professional tour in 2001 for failing a drugs test. Post ...
in the second rubber and to Gastón Gaudio
Gastón Norberto Gaudio (; born 9 December 1978) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He won eight singles titles and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 5 in April 2005. Gaudio's most significant championship c ...
in the fifth and decisive rubber. He has posted a 4–2 career record (2–2 in singles) in three ties since 2000.
Karlović caused a major upset at Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
when he beat defending champion Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) fo ...
in his first match in a Grand Slam tournament. As of 2015, Karlović remains the only player in Open tennis history, and only the second player after Charlie Pasarell
Charles Manuel Pasarell Jr. (born February 12, 1944) is a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican-American former tennis player, tennis administrator and founder of the current Indian Wells Open, Indian Wells tournament. He has also commented for the Tennis ...
, to defeat the defending Wimbledon men's singles champion in the first round. He finished the 2003 year in the top 100 and as the Croatian No. 3, behind Ivan Ljubičić and Mario Ančić
Mario Ančić (; born 30 March 1984) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who currently works as a private equity vice president in New York City. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles on the ATP Tour. Ančić's career- ...
. He also averaged an ATP-best of 17.6 aces per match. He continued his success during the 2004 season, winning at Calabasas, California
Calabasas (, ; Spanish language in California, Spanish for "winter squash, squashes") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States.Queen's Club Championships, defeating
At Wimbledon 2009, he powered through the first two rounds, beating Lukáš Lacko and Steve Darcis. In the next two rounds he needed only one break of serve in the third set to defeat both ninth seed
On 18 September 2009, Karlović hit 78 aces (77 aces on 1st serve) in a
He also hit a second serve against Paul Capdeville in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Legg Mason Tennis Classic on 3 August, which is the fastest second serve on record. Karlovic's record of a 156 mph serve was broken by Samuel Groth at the 2012 ATP Challenger in Busan, but was still the record for ATP events until John Isner broke the record in 2016. On 19 June 2015 Karlović broke the record for most aces in a three-set ATP Tour match during the quarterfinal of 2015 Gerry Weber Open. He served 45 aces in a 7–5, 6–7(8–10), 6–3 win over
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) fo ...
and Thomas Johansson along the way. In the final he lost to Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 13 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in ...
. There were no breaks of serve in the match. Afterwards, Roddick said Karlović's serve is "probably the biggest weapon in tennis... you don't really get a feel for it unless you are on the other side. It was not fun at times."
At the 2005 US Open, Karlović lost to eventual runner-up Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 101 ...
in three tiebreakers. On 19 October 2005, he finally defeated Roddick in the Madrid Masters event. In November 2005, he was a member of the Croatian team that won the Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
. He did not play in the finals, but played in a semifinal dead rubber.
2006: Breaking into the top 50 in singles and doubles
On 26 February 2006, he won his first ATP Doubles Tournament with South African Chris Haggard, beating James Blake and Mardy Fish in the 2006 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup, Memphis, USA. On 27 February, he reached a career high of No. 47 in doubles and on 8 May he also reached the top 50 in singles.2007: First ATP title and breaking top 30
Karlović andRoger Federer
Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...
were the only players who won titles on three different surfaces during the 2007 season.
At age 28, he won his first ATP singles title at the 2007 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, Texas, defeating Mariano Zabaleta
Mariano Zabaleta (born 28 February 1978) is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. He had an unusual but effective service motion. His best shot was his forehand and his favourite surface was clay. Zabaleta's career highlights ...
in the final. On 29 May 2007 at the French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, he defeated eighth seed James Blake in the first round. In the next round he lost to Jonas Björkman
Jonas Lars Björkman (; born 23 March 1972) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He is a former world No. 1 in doubles, and also a former world No. 4 in singles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 ...
in five sets.
On 23 June 2007, he won his second title of the year and his career at Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, the last grass tune-up before Wimbledon, defeating seventh seed Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), first achieved on 27 January 2014. Wawrinka has won 16 ATP T ...
, Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former tennis player. He turned professional in 2002 and won fourteen singles titles on the ATP Tour, and attained a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 6, on 5 January 2009.
Personal li ...
, Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro (; born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), in August 2018. Del Potro won 22 ATP Tour-level sing ...
, second seed Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov (; born 12 December 1982) is a Russian tennis coach and former player. At age 12, he moved to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player. His career-high singles ranking is w ...
(a match played on indoor hard courts due to torrential rain), and Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément (; born 17 December 1977) is a French former professional tennis player and Davis Cup captain. Clément reached the final of the 2001 Australian Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 10 in April 2001. He ...
. Despite a first-round loss at Wimbledon, he rose to No. 40, making his top-40 debut.
On 14 October 2007, he won his third title of the year by taking the Stockholm Open
Stockholm Open (SO) is an annual tennis tournament in Sweden that is part of the ATP Tour's 250 Series. The tournament features both men's singles and doubles events and is organized by the Royal Lawn Tennis Club (KLTK), Stockholms Allmä ...
, defeating former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson in three sets in the final. Earlier, Karlović had yet again met Frenchman Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément (; born 17 December 1977) is a French former professional tennis player and Davis Cup captain. Clément reached the final of the 2001 Australian Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 10 in April 2001. He ...
in his quarterfinal, the pair having met five times that year alone, including in the final of Nottingham, where Karlović secured his second career title. Karlović edged past his rival after saving a match point in the final-set tiebreak, and then went on to defeat German No. 1 Tommy Haas in the semifinals.
2008: Fourth ATP title and breaking top 15
At the 2008 Australian Open, Karlović entered the men's doubles tournament withJohn Isner
John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
, making them the tallest doubles pair in history. Despite losing in the first round, Karlović said "It was a lot of fun. We will win together next time."
Karlović defeated world No. 1 Roger Federer
Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...
in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters
The Cincinnati Open (also known as the Cincinnati Masters) is an annual professional tennis event held in Cincinnati, United States. Due to previous sponsorship, it has also been known as: the Thriftway ATP Championships, the Great American I ...
on 31 July 2008. This was his first victory in seven matches against Federer. It was this loss which caused Federer to lose his No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...
. Karlović then advanced to the semifinals where he lost to eventual champion Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
. This was his career-best result in a top-level tournament.
At the US Open, Karlović fell to Sam Querrey
Samuel Austin Querrey ( ; born October 7, 1987) is an American professional pickleball player and former tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known ...
in straight sets.
At the 2008 Madrid Masters, he stunned World No. 3 Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...
in two tie-breaker sets serving 20 aces to seal victory in 1 hour and 42 minutes. However, he lost in the quarterfinals to Frenchman Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former tennis player. He turned professional in 2002 and won fourteen singles titles on the ATP Tour, and attained a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 6, on 5 January 2009.
Personal li ...
, being dominated in the tiebreaks.
2009: First Grand Slam quarterfinal
At Wimbledon 2009, he powered through the first two rounds, beating Lukáš Lacko and Steve Darcis. In the next two rounds he needed only one break of serve in the third set to defeat both ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
and seventh seed Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spaniards, Spanish tennis coach and a former professional player. He was ranked world No. 7 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP, achieved in April 2009, and w ...
, advancing to face Roger Federer
Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...
in his first quarterfinal at a Grand Slam. The match was a relatively one-sided affair, with Federer winning in straight sets and going on to win the tournament.
In the 2009 Davis Cup semifinals, Karlović was defeated by Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 ...
, despite hitting a record-breaking 78 aces (the record has since been taken by John Isner
John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
). The match was one of the longest in the history of the Davis Cup, lasting 5 hours, 59 minutes. There were only three breaks of serve in this match.
Karlović also won his first five-set match in the Davis Cup quarterfinals against the United States, where he came from behind to beat James Blake from two sets down.
2010: Australian Open fourth found, Injury and absence
Karlović met Štěpánek again at the 2010 Australian Open, in another five-set marathon. This time, the 13-seeded Štěpánek lost. In all five-set matches Karlović has played, this was only his second win. He went on to reach a career-best fourth round there, after beatingJulien Benneteau
Julien Henry Guy Benneteau-Desgrois (; born 20 December 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 25 and doubles ranking of No. 5 in November 2014. Benneteau did not win a singles ti ...
(in four sets), and Ivan Ljubičić (also in four sets). After giving a solid performance, he was ousted by the second seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...
in that round.
As the second seed at the 2010 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, he made a runner-up effort, losing to first-time ATP-finalist Ernests Gulbis
Ernests Gulbis (, born 30 August 1988) is a Latvian former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 10, making him the only male Latvian tennis player ever to be ranked inside the top 10, a feat achieved in June 20 ...
.
In the 2010 Davis Cup, where Croatia had a first-round clash with Ecuador, Karlović defeated Nicolás Lapentti in five sets. This was his third five-set match win, following his five-set win over Štěpánek at the Australian Open. His five-set record then stood at 3–12.
Karlović was forced to withdraw from 2010 Wimbledon due to a foot injury.
2011–13: Rankings fall and fifth ATP title
February 2011 saw Karlović temporarily exit from the top 200. In 2012, Karlović beatDudi Sela
David "Dudi" Sela (; born 4 April 1985) is an Israeli former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 29 in July 2009.
Sela won the French Open 2003 junior doubles title. Representing Israel Davis Cup te ...
in the first round of Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
in straight sets, but was knocked out in the second round by Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
. Karlović controversially accused Wimbledon of being biased, as he was pulled up for approximately 11-foot faults.
In 2013, Karlović suffered from viral meningitis, which was not immediately diagnosed. He was unconscious for some time, and when he woke up, he did not know his name or what year it was. After a lengthy recovery, he was able to play again in Newport in July, where he made it to the quarterfinals, before being defeated by John Isner
John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
in one of their typical ace-fests.
In Bogota, also in July, he won his fifth ATP title, beating Alejandro Falla in the final. He did not qualify for the Rogers Cup or Cincinnati Masters.
At the US Open, he made it through qualifying and into the second round by defeating James Blake in the last singles match of his career in five sets. In the second round, he met Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), first achieved on 27 January 2014. Wawrinka has won 16 ATP T ...
, to whom he lost in straight sets.
2014: Four ATP finals and return to top 30
In February, Karlović reached the final of the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, losing to Kei Nishikori. In May, he reached the final of the Düsseldorf Open, losing toPhilipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Eberhard Hermann Kohlschreiber (; born 16 October 1983) is a German former professional tennis player. The right-hander won eight singles and seven doubles titles on the ATP World Tour and made the quarterfinals at the 2012 Wimbledon Cha ...
. In July, he reached the final of the Hall of Fame Open
The Hall of Fame Open is an international tennis tournament that has been held every year in July since 1976 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, the original location of the U.S. Open (tennis), U.S. National Champion ...
, losing an epic match to Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) fo ...
. Another solid week of tennis saw him make back-to-back finals, this time at the Claro Open Colombia, losing to Bernard Tomic
Bernard Tomic (; , ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 17 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Tomic has won four singles titles on the ATP To ...
in a tight three-setter. He avenged that loss the following month at the Rogers Cup in another tight three-setter.
2015: Sixth ATP title and return to top 20
Karlović won his sixth title, defeating Donald Young at the Delray Beach Open. He also won the 2015 Topshelf Open in doubles withŁukasz Kubot
Łukasz Kubot (; born 16 May 1982) is a former Polish professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles.
He is a two-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2014 Australian Open with Robert Lindstedt, as well as the ...
. He reached his second Hall of Fame Open final, which he lost to Rajeev Ram in three sets.
2016: Seventh & eight titles as oldest champion since 1979, return to top 20
Karlović suffered a knee injury and missed two months of play. He reached the final of the Hall of Fame Open for the third time againstGilles Müller
Gilles Müller (; born 9 May 1983) is a Luxembourgish former professional tennis player. He is a two-time major singles quarterfinalist, making him by far the most successful male tennis player in Luxembourgish history. Müller won two titles on ...
, which he won in three tiebreaks. At the age of 37 and 5 months, he became the oldest player to win an ATP title since 1979. He reached an ATP World Tour 500 series
The ATP 500 tournaments (previously known as the ''ATP World Tour 500'' tournaments, ''ATP International Series Gold'', and ''ATP Championship Series'') are the fourth highest tier of annual men's tennis tournament after the four Grand Slam (tenni ...
tournament at the Washington Open (tennis), which he lost to Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 6 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in November 2016. Mon ...
.
He then won the Los Cabos Open, beating Feliciano López
Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ATP rankings, ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016. ...
in straight sets and returned to the top 20 again at 37 years and 6 months.
2017: 75 Aces at Australian Open
Karlović began the Australian Open by defeatingHoracio Zeballos
Horacio Zeballos Jr. (, ; born 27 April 1985) is an Argentine professional tennis player. He reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 1 on 6 May 2024, becoming the first Argentinian man to achieve the feat. He is a Grand Slam champion ...
in a 5-hour, 15-minute match, the second-longest match at the tournament in the Open Era (behind the Djokovic–Nadal final in 2012). He set an Australian Open record, hitting 75 aces.
Aged 38, Karlović set up the oldest ATP Tour tournament final in 41 years against Gilles Muller, aged 34, at the 2017 Ricoh Open. He lost in straight sets.
2018: Defying age
At theAustralian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
, Karlović progressed to the Round of 32, losing to Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi (born 21 February 1984) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 on 28 January 2013. He became the first Italian to win a title on all three surfaces.
Personal lif ...
, 7–9 in the fifth set.
At the Ecuador Open in Quito, Karlović made it to the Round of 16, losing to 18 years old Corentin Moutet
Corentin Moutet (; born 19 April 1999) is a French professional tennis player. Moutet has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 51, attained on 7 November 2022. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 425, attained on ...
in a third-set tie-break.
Next, he reached the quarterfinals at New York Open losing to second seed Sam Querrey
Samuel Austin Querrey ( ; born October 7, 1987) is an American professional pickleball player and former tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known ...
.
After a string of tight first round losses at Delray Beach Open, Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open (tennis), the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston saw Karlović reach the semifinals with wins over Japanese Taro Daniel
is an American-Japanese professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 58 on 15 January 2024. He has won one ATP Tour singles title at the 2018 Istanbul Open, as well as nine ATP Challenger Tour singles ti ...
, Denis Kudla and 4th seed Nick Kyrgios
Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. Kyrgios has been ranked as high as world No. 13 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won se ...
. In the semifinals, he lost to eventual runner-up Tennys Sandgren
Tennys Loren Sandgren II ( ; born July 22, 1991) is an American former professional tennis player. He has achieved a career-high ATP singles ATP rankings, ranking of No. 41 on January 14, 2019. He played two years of college tennis at the Univer ...
in two close tie-break sets.
At Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
, he reached the second round. At the US Open, he was defeated in the second round of qualifying.
In October, he became the oldest champion of an ATP Challenger
The ATP Challenger Tour (known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series) is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. It was founded in 1976 as a replacement for the ILTF Satellite Circuit (founded in 1971) as ...
tournament, winning the Calgary Challenger at 39 years and seven months.
2019: Oldest ATP finalist since 1977
At the Maharashtra Open Karlović beat teenager Félix Auger-Aliassime in first round. The age gap of 21 years and 6 months between the two players was the largest on the ATP Tour since 2011. Karlović and Auger-Aliassime were the oldest and the youngest players in the Top 200 ATP rankings at the beginning of the 2019 season. He went on to make the final, at 39 years and 10 months becoming the oldest finalist on the ATP Tour since 43-year-oldKen Rosewall
Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former World number one male tennis player rankings, world No. 1 professional tennis player. Rosewall won 147 singles titles, including 23 majors: a record 15 Major professional te ...
won the 1977 Hong Kong championship.
With his victory over Matthew Ebden
Matthew Ebden (born 26 November 1987) is an Australian professional tennis player who reached a career high of List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles.
Ebden is a three-time Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ch ...
at the Indian Wells Masters, he became the first player aged over 40 to win an ATP Tour match since Jimmy Connors
James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 2 ...
in 1995 in Halle. In addition, Karlović was the oldest to win a match in ATP Masters 1000 history. He subsequently defeated 11th seed, compatriot Borna Coric to become the oldest man to win two back-to-back matches at the Masters 1000-level.
2021-2024: 63rd Grand Slam appearance, Retirement
At the 2021 Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Karlovic won against 24-year-old Bernabé Zapata Miralles. This was only his second match win for 2021, the first being at the 2021 Delray Beach Open against Pablo Andújar. At 42 years old, Karlovic was the oldest player to compete in an ATP Tour match sinceThomas Muster
Thomas Muster (born 2 October 1967) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Muster ...
, 44, in 2011 in Vienna (l. to Dominic Thiem in R1).
In July, Los Cabos Open organisers circulated news of Karlović's retirement at the 2021 US Open. Later, he said he may change his mind and continue playing in 2022 if he got good results.
Karlović entered the 2021 US Open qualifying draw for possibly his last tournament. He won all three of his qualifying matches to qualify for the US Open, making him the second-oldest Grand Slam qualifier in the Open Era after Mal Anderson qualified for the 1977 Australian Open. It was his 17th Grand Slam draw participation at the US Open and the 63rd overall Grand Slam main draw appearance for the 42-year-old. He lost in the first round to 5th seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets.
He officially retired in February 2024 after two-and-a-half years of inactivity. He had been listed as a retired player by the International Tennis Integrity Agency since 15 June 2023.
National representation
Karlović has been absent from some previous CroatianDavis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
campaigns owing to his dispute with the Croatian Tennis Association. He further strained his relations with the Croatian Tennis Association and the Croatian Olympic Committee
The Croatian Olympic Committee (, HOO) is the non-profit organization representing Croatian athletes in the International Olympic Committee. The COC organizes Croatia's representatives at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. It also organizes the ...
by his last-minute withdrawal from the Olympic tournament in Beijing, communicated via an SMS message.
He played against Japan in the first round in 2012 in Japan with wins over Kei Nishikori and Go Soeda in singles and in doubles winning with Dodig.
In 2016, he accepted an invitation to the Davis Cup final against Argentina. He played the second match, losing against Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro (; born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), in August 2018. Del Potro won 22 ATP Tour-level sing ...
, and had to play the last deciding match, again losing against Federico Delbonis.
Performance timelines
Singles
Doubles
Style of play
Karlović plays a very offensive and powerful playing style. His best and most powerful weapon is his serve. His height of 2.11 meters makes his serve very powerful and it is regarded as one of if not the best in tennis history. He has hit 13,762 aces during his career, the second most in all of ATP history. Besides his huge serve, Karlović also has a powerful forehand which he usually hits deep and fast into his opponent's baseline. On his backhand side, he usually slices the ball deep into his opponent's baseline and rarely uses the one-handed backhand drive that he possesses. Karlović is also known as a serve-and-volleyer. His serve usually causes players to return the ball lightly, at which point he will come forward on the ball and volley it. His skill at the net is one of the key traits of his playing style.Serving records
On 18 September 2009, Karlović hit 78 aces (77 aces on 1st serve) in a Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
match against Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 ...
, breaking his previous record of 51 (against Daniele Bracciali in the 2005 Wimbledon Championships) and 55 (against Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) fo ...
in the 2009 French Open). Only once in his ATP career has he failed to hit an ace during a match, which was in the 2008 Monte Carlo Masters against Frenchman Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 6 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in November 2016. Mon ...
. His record of aces in a single match was broken by both John Isner
John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
and Nicolas Mahut
Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut (; born 21 January 1982) is a French professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles.
He is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having completed the career Grand Slam with victories at th ...
in the longest match in tennis history at the first round of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, where Isner hit 113 aces and Mahut hit 103.
In 2007, Karlović became the fourth player since 1991 to serve 1,000 aces in a season. He finished the year with 1,318 aces, second behind Goran Ivanišević
Goran Ivanišević (; born 13 September 1971) is a Croatian former professional tennis player and current coach. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 1994. Ivanišević won 22 ATP To ...
, who hit 1,477 in 1996. In 2015, he became the third player since 1991 (after Goran Ivanišević
Goran Ivanišević (; born 13 September 1971) is a Croatian former professional tennis player and current coach. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 1994. Ivanišević won 22 ATP To ...
and Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 13 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in ...
) to serve 9,000 career aces., and the second to notch 10,000 aces.
Karlović's fastest official serve is , which he hit during his five-set loss in the 2011 Davis Cup first round third rubber doubles match with Ivan Dodig
Ivan Dodig (; born 2 January 1985) is a Croatian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of World No. 2 in September 2023.
He is a seven-time Grand Slam champion, having won men's double ...
against Christopher Kas and Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner (born 24 March 1984) is a retired German professional tennis player. He was known for his hard-hitting forehand and backhand slices. He reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 9, which he achieved in April 2011.
Car ...
of Germany. That was ATP's official record at the time. His previous record was in a victory over Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément (; born 17 December 1977) is a French former professional tennis player and Davis Cup captain. Clément reached the final of the 2001 Australian Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 10 in April 2001. He ...
in the final of Nottingham in 2007. This is the third-fastest first serve on record, after Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 13 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in ...
's .Karlovic StatsHe also hit a second serve against Paul Capdeville in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Legg Mason Tennis Classic on 3 August, which is the fastest second serve on record. Karlovic's record of a 156 mph serve was broken by Samuel Groth at the 2012 ATP Challenger in Busan, but was still the record for ATP events until John Isner broke the record in 2016. On 19 June 2015 Karlović broke the record for most aces in a three-set ATP Tour match during the quarterfinal of 2015 Gerry Weber Open. He served 45 aces in a 7–5, 6–7(8–10), 6–3 win over
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in May 2015. Berdych won 13 ATP Tour singles titles, i ...
.
Karlović held the record for the most aces since 1991 after surpassing Goran Ivanišević
Goran Ivanišević (; born 13 September 1971) is a Croatian former professional tennis player and current coach. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 1994. Ivanišević won 22 ATP To ...
in October 2015. As of September 2021, he has struck 13,728 aces in 694 matches (not including Davis Cup). This record was surpassed by John Isner in June 2022, who hit his 13,729th ace in a third round match at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships
The 2022 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tier tennis tournament that took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. Novak Djokovic successfully defended his gentleme ...
.
Personal life
During Karlović's childhood, his mother Gordana worked in agriculture, while his father Vlado was ameteorologist
A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...
.
Karlović married his wife Alsi on 29 March 2005. Their first child, Jada Valentina, was born in September 2011.
One of his favorite activities is playing basketball.
Karlović is known for his humorous Twitter account.
Karlović wears European size 51 shoes.
Equipment and apparel
Karlovic currently endorses theHead
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
Graphene Radical Pro, and wears Mizuno clothing.
Early on in his career, Karlović used Head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
Prestige racquets, until switching to the Head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
Flexpoint Instinct in 2005. He continued to use the Instinct until 2012, except for a brief switch to the Babolat AeroPro Drive Cortex in 2009.
In 2013, after a period of struggling to find a replacement for the Flexpoint Instinct he enjoyed, he finally switched to the Head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
YouTek IG Radical Pro, and proceeded to endorse the new Graphene Radical in 2014.
Karlović has previously worn apparel by Diadora, My OCK, Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
, Nike, Li-Ning, Sergio Tacchini and Mizuno, as well as his own brand 6'10".
ATP career finals
Singles: 19 (8 titles, 11 runner-ups)
Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
ATP Challenger Tour finals
Singles: 12 (7–5)
Doubles: 3 (0–3)
ITF futures finals
Singles: 8 (4–4)
Doubles: 10 (4–6)
National representation
Team competition finals
Davis Cup: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
World Team Cup: 1 (1 title)
Davis Cup (13–14)
* indicates the outcome of the Davis Cup match followed bythe score The Score may refer to:
Films and television
* The Score (1978 film), ''The Score'' (1978 film), a 1978 Swedish film, released in Sweden as ''Lyftet''
* The Score (2001 film), ''The Score'' (2001 film), a 2001 crime drama film starring Robert De Ni ...
, date, place of event, the zonal classification and its phase, and the court surface.
Wins over top 10 players
*He has a record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.Notes
See also
* Croatia Davis Cup team * Fastest recorded tennis servesReferences
External links
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Karlovic, Ivo 1979 births Living people Croatian male tennis players Olympic tennis players for Croatia Tennis players from Zagreb Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics 21st-century Croatian sportsmen