Ivo Karlovic moves to the second round of BNP Paribas Open 2011
Ivo Karlovic of Croatia defeated Marinko Matosevic of Australia in three thrilling sets 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 in the first round at the BNP Paribas Open 2011 on Thursday.
Karlovic took the early lead as he broke Matosevic in the third game of the opening set. However, the Australian broke back in the 6th game to level the score at 3-3. Both players held their serves in the next six games, taking the set to a tiebreak.
Helped by his powerful serves, Karlovic did not lose many points in the tiebreak and won it 7-2.
The Croatian hit 6 aces and 58 per cent of the first serves in the opening set. In comparison, Matosevic hit 3 aces and 67 per cent of the first serves in the opener.
In the second set, none of the two players was able to break other’s serve, taking the set to another tiebreak. This time it was Matosevic who dominated the tiebreak, winning it 7-3.
The Australian’s first serve percentage was quiet low as he hit only 47 per cent of the first serves. However, he managed to convert 82 per cent of the first serves into points. In comparison, the big serving Karlovic’s serving statistics were far better
than his rival as he hit 70 per cent of the first serves, winning 82 per cent of the points on them.
The final set was a one sided affair as the Croatian broke his opponent twice in the set, winning it 6-2. The 32-year-old fired in 6 aces and kept his first serve percentage up at 70 per cent. Karlovic converted 2 of the 5 break points he received in the
final set. On the other hand, his opponent did not receive a single break point.
Karlovic’s serve was the main difference between the two players. The Croatian hit a total of 17 aces in the match as compared to just 6 by Matosevic.
The 6 ft 10” tall player recently broke the record for the fastest serve in the history of tennis as he hit a serve at 251 km per hour during Croatia’s Davis Cup tie against Germany recently.
Karlovic, currently ranked 239th in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, is a former top 15 player in the world. He missed last 6 months of 2010 due to an Achilles injury.
After getting rid of his injury, the Croatian started the 2011 season at the Qatar Open, where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in straight sets in the quarterfinal. He then lost to his compatriot Ivan Dodig in a five setter in the first round of the
Australian Open.
Karlovic will face world number 6 David Ferrer of Spain in the second round who received a bye in the first round.
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