Denis Kudla upsets Ivo Karlovic in the first round – Hall of Fame Championships 2011
Wild card entrant, world number 394 Denis Kudla of USA ousted former world number 14 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia in three sets 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4 in the first round of Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport on Tuesday.
The American needed two hours and nine minutes to undo his opponent in a tough contest.
Kudla and Karlovic could not break each other in the first set, taking the score to 6-6 to force a tie-break. The American captured two mini-breaks in the tie-break, bagging it 7-4.
The 18-year-old kept his first serve percentage at 51 percent and fired seven aces in the first set. He won 89 percent of the first service points and 78 percent of the second service points in the opening set. The American had
no answer to his opponent’s huge serves as he managed to claim only five percent of the first return points. Karlovic saved both break points he faced in the first set.
In the second set, Kudla and the Croatian held their serve in the first four games to take the score to 2-2. Karlovic broke the American in the fifth game and consolidated on it to take a 4-2 lead. The Croatian served out the set
in the tenth game, grabbing it 6-4.
The right-handed delivered 67 percent of the first serves and six aces in the second set. Karlovic converted eight of the nine second serves into points in the second set. On the other hand, Kudla did not serve that well as he
committed three double faults and hit just 53 percent of the first serves. The American did not have an attacking second serve, winning just 43 percent of the second service points in the second set. Kudla could not save one of the two break points he faced
in the second set.
Karlovic took an early lead in the final set as he broke Kudla in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. However, the American broke back immediately and held his serve in the next game to level the score at 2-2. Kudla broke again
in the ninth game and served out the set at 5-4.
The five feet and eleven inches tall capitalised on two of the three break points he created on Karlovic’s serve and saved one of the two break points on his own serve in the third set.
Kudla is drawn to face second seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the second round.
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