Ivo Karlović

Croatian tennis player

Ivo Karlović
Karlović at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships
Country (sports) Croatia
ResidenceMiami, Florida, United States
Grand Bahama, The Bahamas
Born (1979-02-28) 28 February 1979 (age 45)
Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height2.11 m (6 ft 11 in)[1]
Turned pro1993
Retired2023
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
CoachMirko Pehar
Goran Dragicevic
Prize moneyUS$10,160,232[2]
Singles
Career record371–346 (51.7% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles8
Highest rankingNo. 14 (18 August 2008)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (2010)
French Open3R (2014, 2016)
WimbledonQF (2009)
US Open4R (2016)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games3R (2004)
Doubles
Career record91–109 (45.5% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 44 (10 April 2006)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenSF (2010)
French Open2R (2004, 2011)
Wimbledon3R (2005)
US Open2R (2004, 2007, 2011)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French Open1R (2015)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (2005)

Ivo Karlović (Croatian pronunciation: [ǐːʋo kâːrloʋitɕ];[3][4] born 28 February 1979) is a Croatian former professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint tallest ranked tennis player in history, along with Reilly Opelka.[5] He won eight ATP Tour singles titles between 2007 and 2016. He is a serve-and-volleyer[6][7] and officially held the record for the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h (156 mph),[8] before being surpassed unofficially by Samuel Groth in 2012, and officially by John Isner in 2016.[9][10] In his prime, he was considered one of the best servers on tour,[11] and held the record for career aces from 1991 onwards with 13,728 (not including Davis Cup) before the record was broken by Isner on July 1 2022.[12][13] This makes him one of only five players since 1991 to surpass 10,000 aces.[14] His height enabled him to serve with high speed and unique trajectory.[15][16][17]

Junior career

Karlović played his first junior match in April 1995 at the age of 16 at a grade 3 tournament in Croatia. He played only eight tournament throughout his junior career (four singles and four doubles). In singles, he defeated a 15-year-old Marat Safin 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 2–5 in singles and 5–3 in doubles.[18]

Professional career

1998–2004: Beginning

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 at the 2004 US Open

Karlović debuted for the Croatian Davis Cup team in 2000 against Ireland, where he won the dead rubber. Karlović appeared in a starting line-up for the first time in 2002 against Argentina in Buenos Aires, but he lost to Juan Ignacio Chela in the second rubber and to Gastón Gaudio 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 when he beat defending champion Lleyton Hewitt 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, to defeat the defending Wimbledon men's singles champion in the first round.[19] He finished the 2003 year in the top 100 and as the Croatian No. 3, behind Ivan Ljubičić and Mario Ančić. He also averaged an ATP-best of 17.6 aces per match. He continued his success during the 2004 season, winning at Calabasas, California. He reached the round of sixteen in several tournaments, including Wimbledon.

2005: First ATP final

In 2005, Karlović reached his first ATP final at the Queen's Club Championships, defeating Lleyton Hewitt and Thomas Johansson along the way. In the final he lost to Andy Roddick. 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."[20]

At the 2005 US Open, Karlović lost to eventual runner-up Andre Agassi 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. He did not play in the finals, but played in a semifinal dead rubber.[21]

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 and Roger Federer 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, Texas, defeating Mariano Zabaleta in the final. On 29 May 2007 at the French Open, he defeated eighth seed James Blake in the first round. In the next round he lost to Jonas Björkman in five sets.

On 23 June 2007, he won his second title of the year and his career at Nottingham, the last grass tune-up before Wimbledon, defeating seventh seed Stanislas Wawrinka, Gilles Simon, Juan Martín del Potro, second seed Dmitry Tursunov (a match played on indoor hard courts due to torrential rain), and Arnaud Clément. 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, defeating former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson in three sets in the final.[22] Earlier, Karlović had yet again met Frenchman Arnaud Clément 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 with 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) John Isner, 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."[23]

Karlović defeated world No. 1 Roger Federer in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters 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. Karlović then advanced to the semifinals where he lost to eventual champion Andy Murray. This was his career-best result in a top-level tournament.

At the US Open, Karlović fell to Sam Querrey in straight sets.

At the 2008 Madrid Masters, he stunned World No. 3 Novak Djokovic 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, being dominated in the tiebreaks.

2009: First Grand Slam quarterfinal

Ivo Karlović and Ivan Dodig in Davis Cup doubles match against Germany

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 and seventh seed Fernando Verdasco, advancing to face Roger Federer 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, despite hitting a record-breaking 78 aces (the record has since been taken by John Isner). 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.[24]

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 beating Julien Benneteau (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 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.

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.[25]

2011–13: Rankings fall and fifth ATP title

Karlović at the 2013 US Open

February 2011 saw Karlović temporarily exit from the top 200. In 2012, Karlović beat Dudi Sela in the first round of Wimbledon in straight sets, but was knocked out in the second round by Andy Murray.[26] Karlović controversially accused Wimbledon of being biased, as he was pulled up for approximately 11-foot faults.[27]

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.[9] 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 in one of their typical ace-fests.[9]

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, 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 to Philipp Kohlschreiber. In July, he reached the final of the Hall of Fame Open, losing an epic match to Lleyton Hewitt. Another solid week of tennis saw him make back-to-back finals, this time at the Claro Open Colombia, losing to Bernard Tomic 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 with Łukasz Kubot. 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 at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships

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 against Gilles Müller, 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 tournament at the Washington Open (tennis), which he lost to Gaël Monfils.

He then won the Los Cabos Open, beating Feliciano López 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 defeating Horacio Zeballos 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.[28]

Aged 38, Karlović set up the oldest ATP Tour tournament final in 41 years against Gilles Muller, aged 34, at the 2017 Ricoh Open.[29] He lost in straight sets.

2018: Defying age

At the Australian Open, Karlović progressed to the Round of 32, losing to Andreas Seppi, 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 in a third-set tie-break.

Next, he reached the quarterfinals at New York Open losing to second seed Sam Querrey.

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, Denis Kudla and 4th seed Nick Kyrgios. In the semifinals, he lost to eventual runner-up Tennys Sandgren in two close tie-break sets.

At Wimbledon, 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 tournament, winning the Calgary Challenger at 39 years and seven months.[30]

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.[31] He went on to make the final, at 39 years and 10 months becoming the oldest finalist on the ATP Tour since 43-year-old Ken Rosewall won the 1977 Hong Kong championship.[32]

With his victory over Matthew Ebden at the Indian Wells Masters, he became the first player aged over 40 to win an ATP Tour match since Jimmy Connors in 1995 in Halle. In addition, he is the oldest to win a match in ATP Masters 1000 history.[33]

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 since Thomas Muster, 44, in 2011 in Vienna (l. to Dominic Thiem in R1).[34]

In July, Los Cabos Open organisers circulated news of Karlović's retirement at the 2021 US Open.[35] Later, he said he may change his mind and continue playing in 2022 if he got good results.[36]

Karlović entered the 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.[37] 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.[38] He lost in the first round to 5th seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets.

He officially retired in February 2024 after two and half years of inactivity.[39][40]

National representation

Karlović has been absent from some previous Croatian Davis Cup campaigns owing to his dispute with the Croatian Tennis Association.[41] He further strained his relations with the Croatian Tennis Association and the Croatian Olympic Committee by his last-minute withdrawal from the Olympic tournament in Beijing, communicated via an SMS message.[42][43]

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, and had to play the last deciding match, again losing against Federico Delbonis.

Performance timelines

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles

Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 SR W–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A Q3 Q2 A 2R 1R 1R 1R 3R 2R 4R 1R 3R 1R 1R 2R 1R 3R 3R 2R 2R A 0 / 17 16–17 48%
French Open A A Q1 Q2 1R 1R 2R 2R 1R 1R A 1R 1R A 3R 1R 3R 2R 1R 2R Q2 A 0 / 14 8–14 36%
Wimbledon Q3 Q2 Q1 3R 4R 1R 1R 1R 1R QF A 2R 2R A 1R 4R 2R 1R 2R 2R NH Q1 0 / 15 17–15 53%
US Open Q1 Q2 Q1 3R 1R 2R 1R 1R 3R 1R A 3R 1R 2R 2R 2R 4R 1R Q2 1R 1R 1R 0 / 17 13–17 43%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 4–2 4–4 1–4 1–4 1–4 4–4 5–4 3–1 3–4 3–4 1–2 3–4 5–4 6–4 3–4 3–3 3–4 1–2 0–1 0 / 63 54–63 46%
National representation
Summer Olympics A not held 3R not held A not held A not held A not held A 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Davis Cup Z2 A QF A 1R W A A PO SF QF 1R QF A A A F A A A A A 1 / 8 9–10 47%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Open A A A A 1R 2R 2R Q1 3R 3R 2R QF 1R 2R 2R 2R A 2R 1R 4R NH Q2 0 / 14 13–14 48%
Miami Open A A A A 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R 3R 1R 2R Q1 2R 2R A 3R 1R 1R NH Q2 0 / 14 4–14 22%
Monte-Carlo Masters A A A A A 1R 1R A 2R 2R A A A A 1R A 1R A A A NH A 0 / 6 2–6 25%
Madrid Open not held A A 1R QF A 3R QF 2R 2R 1R 1R A A 1R 1R 2R A A NH A 0 / 11 10–11 48%
Italian Open A A A A 3R Q1 A Q2 3R 2R A 1R Q2 A 2R A 1R A A A A A 0 / 6 6–6 50%
Canadian Open A A Q1 A 1R 1R A 2R A 1R A 3R A Q2 2R 3R 3R A A Q2 NH A 0 / 8 8–8 50%
Cincinnati Open A A A A 3R Q1 A 1R SF 2R A 2R A Q2 1R 3R 1R 3R Q2 1R A A 0 / 10 12–10 55%
Shanghai Masters not Masters series 1R A A A A 3R 2R 1R 1R A A not held 0 / 5 3–5 37%
Paris Masters A Q1 A Q1 Q1 A A 2R 1R 2R A A A Q1 1R 1R 2R A A A A A 0 / 6 3–6 33%
German Open A A A A A 1R A A 3R not Masters Series 0 / 2 2–2 50%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 4–6 4–6 1–3 4–5 12–8 6–9 2–3 7–6 1–3 1–1 6–8 5–7 3–7 4–5 0–2 3–3 0–0 0–0 0 / 82 63–82 43%
Career statistics
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Career
Tournaments 0 1 2 7 25 22 18 24 26 22 9 20 16 14 28 26 24 20 16 15 4 4 343
Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 8
Finals 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 0 1 0 0 1 4 2 3 1 0 1 0 0 19
Hard W–L 0–0 0–1 1–1 5–4 6–12 9–11 8–11 29–16 19–15 10–15 15–7 12–14 14–11 13–11 24–18 26–18 20–15 8–12 4–7 9–11 1–4 1–3 4 / 217 234–217 52%
Clay W–L 0–0 0–0 0–2 1–1 5–8 0–6 7–5 5–2 5–8 6–6 2–2 3–4 0–4 0–1 7–6 1–3 4–6 3–4 5–6 1–2 0–0 0–0 1 / 71 55–76 42%
Grass W–L 1–0 0–0 0–1 3–2 5–3 7–3 0–2 8–2 7–2 7–2 0–0 1–3 2–2 2–1 5–4 11–4 8–3 4–4 2–3 1–2 0–0 1–1 3 / 47 75–44 63%
Carpet W–L 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–3 1–3 2–1 1–1 0–1 discontinued 0 / 8 7–9 44%
Overall win–loss 2–0 0–1 1–4 9–7 18–26 17–23 17–19 43–21 31–26 23–23 17–9 16–21 16–17 15–13 36–28 38–25 32–24 15–20 11–16 11–15 1–4 2–4 8 / 343 371–346 52%
Win % 100% 0% 20% 56% 41% 43% 47% 67% 54% 50% 61% 43% 48% 54% 56% 60% 57% 43% 41% 42% 20% 33% 51.74%
Year-end ranking 286 193 201 73 61 70 98 22 26 37 73 56 100 78 27 23 20 80 100 95 147 273 $10,160,232

Doubles

Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 3R 1R QF 1R 1R 2R SF 1R 1R A 1R 1R A A A A A A 0 / 11 10–11
French Open 2R 1R 1R A A 1R A 2R A A A A 1R A A A A A 0 / 6 2–6
Wimbledon 1R 3R A A A A A 2R 2R A A A A A A A NH A 0 / 4 4–4
US Open 2R A 1R 2R 1R A A 2R 1R A 1R A A A A A A A 0 / 7 3–7
Win–loss 4–4 2–3 3–3 1–2 0–2 1–2 4–1 3–4 1–3 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 28 19–28
Career statistics
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Career
Tournaments 12 10 10 9 10 8 5 10 10 4 7 3 1 0 3 0 0 0 111
Titles / Finals 0 / 0 0 / 0 1 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 1 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 2 / 3
Overall win–loss 11–12 7–9 16–8 7–9 2–11 5–8 7–5 6–11 10–11 5–4 1–6 3–2 0–1 0–0 4–3 0–0 0–0 0–0 91–109
Year-end ranking 87 109 66 153 375 176 82 162 140 248 812 277 270 45.5%

Style of play

Karlović's 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

Karlović produced the fastest serve ever during a Davis Cup doubles match against Germany on 5 March 2011

On 18 September 2009, Karlović hit 78 aces (77 aces on 1st serve) in a Davis Cup match against Radek Štěpánek, breaking his previous record of 51 (against Daniele Bracciali in the 2005 Wimbledon Championships) and 55 (against Lleyton Hewitt 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.[44] His record of aces in a single match was broken by both John Isner and Nicolas Mahut 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, who hit 1,477 in 1996.[45] In 2015, he became the third player since 1991 (after Goran Ivanišević and Andy Roddick) to serve 9,000 career aces.,[46] and the second to notch 10,000 aces.

Karlović's fastest official serve is 156 miles per hour (251 km/h), which he hit during his five-set loss in the 2011 Davis Cup first round third rubber doubles match with Ivan Dodig against Christopher Kas and Philipp Petzschner of Germany. That was ATP's official record at the time.[47][48] His previous record was 153 miles per hour (246 km/h) in a victory over Arnaud Clément in the final of Nottingham in 2007. This is the third-fastest first serve on record, after Andy Roddick's 155 miles per hour (249 km/h).[49][50] He also hit a 144 miles per hour (232 km/h) 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.[49][51][52][53]

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.[9]

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.[54]

Karlović held the record for the most aces since 1991 after surpassing Goran Ivanišević in October 2015. As of September 2021, he has struck 13,728 aces in 694 matches (not including Davis Cup).[55][56] 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.[57]

Personal life

During Karlović's childhood, his mother Gordana worked in agriculture, while his father Vlado was a meteorologist.

Karlović married his wife Alsi on 29 March 2005. Their first child, Jada Valentina, was born in September 2011.[58]

One of his favorite activities is playing basketball.

Karlović is known for his humorous Twitter account.

Karlović wears European size 51 shoes.[59]

Equipment and apparel

Karlovic currently endorses the Head Graphene Radical Pro, and wears Mizuno clothing.

Early on in his career, Karlović used Head Prestige racquets, until switching to the Head 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 YouTek IG Radical Pro, and proceeded to endorse the new Graphene Radical in 2014.

Karlović has previously worn apparel by Diadora, My OCK, Adidas, 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)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (8–10)
Finals by surface
Hard (4–6)
Clay (1–1)
Grass (3–4)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (7–10)
Indoor (1–1)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Jun 2005 Queen's Club Championships, United Kingdom International Grass United States Andy Roddick 6–7(7–9), 6–7(4–7)
Loss 0–2 Feb 2007 Pacific Coast Championships, United States International Hard United Kingdom Andy Murray 7–6(7–3), 4–6, 6–7(2–7)
Win 1–2 Apr 2007 US Clay Court Championships, United States International Clay Argentina Mariano Zabaleta 6–4, 6–1
Win 2–2 Jun 2007 Nottingham Open, United Kingdom International Grass France Arnaud Clément 3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win 3–2 Oct 2007 Stockholm Open, Sweden International Hard (i) Sweden Thomas Johansson 6–3, 3–6, 6–1
Win 4–2 Jun 2008 Nottingham Open, United Kingdom (2) International Grass[a] Spain Fernando Verdasco 7–5, 6–7(4–7), 7–6(10–8)
Loss 4–3 Feb 2010 Delray Beach Open, United States 250 Series Hard Latvia Ernests Gulbis 2–6, 3–6
Win 5–3 Jul 2013 Colombia Open, Colombia 250 Series Hard Colombia Alejandro Falla 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Loss 5–4 Feb 2014 US National Indoor Championships, United States 250 Series Hard (i) Japan Kei Nishikori 4–6, 6–7(0–7)
Loss 5–5 May 2014 Düsseldorf Open, Germany 250 Series Clay Germany Philipp Kohlschreiber 2–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss 5–6 Jul 2014 Hall of Fame Open, United States 250 Series Grass Australia Lleyton Hewitt 3–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–7(3–7)
Loss 5–7 Jul 2014 Colombia Open, Colombia 250 Series Hard Australia Bernard Tomic 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–7(4–7)
Win 6–7 Feb 2015 Delray Beach Open, United States 250 Series Hard United States Donald Young 6–3, 6–3
Loss 6–8 Jul 2015 Hall of Fame Open, United States 250 Series Grass United States Rajeev Ram 6–7(5–7), 7–5, 6–7(2–7)
Win 7–8 Jul 2016 Hall of Fame Open, United States 250 Series Grass Luxembourg Gilles Müller 6–7(2–7), 7–6(7–5), 7–6(14–12)
Loss 7–9 Jul 2016 Washington Open, United States 500 Series Hard France Gaël Monfils 7–5, 6–7(6–8), 4–6
Win 8–9 Aug 2016 Los Cabos Open, Mexico 250 Series Hard Spain Feliciano López 7–6(7–5), 6–2
Loss 8–10 Jun 2017 Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands 250 Series Grass Luxembourg Gilles Müller 6–7(5–7), 6–7(4–7)
Loss 8–11 Jan 2019 Maharashtra Open, India 250 Series Hard South Africa Kevin Anderson 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–2), 6–7(5–7)

Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (1–0)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (1–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (1–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (1–1)
Indoor (1–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Feb 2006 US National Indoor Championships,
United States
Intl. Gold Hard (i) South Africa Chris Haggard United States James Blake
United States Mardy Fish
0–6, 7–5, [10–5]
Loss 1–1 Jul 2007 Indianapolis Championships,
United States
International Hard Russia Teymuraz Gabashvili Argentina Juan Martín del Potro
United States Travis Parrott
6–3, 2–6, [6–10]
Win 2–1 Jun 2015 Rosmalen Championships,
Netherlands
250 Series Grass Poland Łukasz Kubot France Pierre-Hugues Herbert
France Nicolas Mahut
6–2, 7–6(11–9)

ATP Challenger Tour finals

Singles: 12 (7–5)

Result W–L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Dec 2001 Urbana, United States Hard (i) United States Robby Ginepri 6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Loss 1–1 Jul 2002 Andorra, Andorra Hard Belgium Dick Norman 4–6, 4–6
Win 2–1 Aug 2003 Binghamton, United States Hard France Nicolas Thomann 7–6(8–6), 6–7(6–8), 7–6(7–4)
Win 3–1 Aug 2003 Bronx, United States Hard Russia Dmitry Tursunov 6–3, 6–3
Win 4–1 Apr 2004 Calabasas, United States Hard United States Alex Bogomolov Jr. 7–6(7–3), 6–3
Loss 4–2 Jun 2005 Surbiton, United Kingdom Grass Italy Daniele Bracciali 7–6(7–0), 6–7(5–7), 6–7(4–7)
Loss 4–3 Jun 2007 Surbiton, United Kingdom Grass France Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Win 5–3 Oct 2011 Sacramento, United States Hard United States James Blake 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Win 6–3 Oct 2011 Tiburon, United States Hard United States Sam Querrey 6–7(2–7), 6–1, 6–4
Loss 6–4 Oct 2018 Monterrey, Mexico Hard Spain David Ferrer 3–6, 4–6
Win 7–4 Oct 2018 Calgary, Canada Hard (i) Australia Jordan Thompson 7–6(7–3), 6–3
Loss 7–5 Nov 2019 Houston, United States Hard United States Marcos Giron 5–7, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(9–11)

Doubles: 3 (0–3)

Result W–L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Dec 1999 Jaipur, India Grass Kazakhstan Yuri Schukin Czech Republic Tomáš Anzari
Japan Satoshi Iwabuchi
6–7(6–8), 6–4, 6–7(5–7)
Loss 0–2 Jun 2001 Salvador, Brazil Hard Mexico Alejandro Hernández Brazil Adriano Ferreira
Brazil Daniel Melo
6–3, 3–6, 6–7(3–7)
Loss 0–3 Dec 2002 Yokohama, Japan Carpet (i) New Zealand Mark Nielsen Chinese Taipei Lu Yen-hsun
Thailand Danai Udomchoke
6–7(5–7), 3–6

ITF futures finals

Singles: 8 (4–4)

Result W–L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 1998 Croatia F6, Umag Clay Croatia Željko Krajan 3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss 0–2 Sep 1999 Germany F10, Oberhaching Clay Czech Republic Radim Žitko 1–6, 2–6
Loss 0–3 Feb 2000 Great Britain F1, Leeds Carpet (i) Norway Helge Koll-Frafjord 6–7(4–7), 6–7(2–7)
Loss 0–4 Feb 2000 Croatia F2, Zagreb Clay Croatia Mario Ančić 6–7(14–16), 4–6
Win 1–4 Mar 2000 France F6, Douai Clay (i) Belgium Olivier Rochus 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–5)
Win 2–4 Sep 2000 France F18, Mulhouse Hard (i) France Antony Dupuis 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Win 3–4 May 2001 Austria F3, Kramsach Clay Spain Marc Fornell-Mestres 6–3, 6–3
Win 4–4 Mar 2002 USA F6, San Antonio Hard United States Marc Silva 7–6(7–3), 6–4

Doubles: 10 (4–6)

Result W–L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Jun 1998 Croatia F1, Veli Lošinj Clay Croatia Igor Šarić Croatia Saša Hiršzon
Croatia Željko Krajan
6–7, 3–6
Win 1–1 Aug 1998 Croatia F4, Umag Clay Croatia Lovro Zovko Slovenia Jaka Bozic
Slovenia Marko Por
7–5, 7–6
Loss 1–2 Aug 1998 Croatia F5, Umag Clay Croatia Lovro Zovko Sweden Simon Aspelin
Norway Helge Koll-Frafjord
5–7, 4–6
Loss 1–3 May 1999 Italy F7, Verona Clay Croatia Goran Orešić Italy Massimo Ardinghi
Italy Filippo Messori
4–6, 6–7
Loss 1–4 Jul 1999 Slovenia F2, Portorož Clay Croatia Goran Orešić Czech Republic Leoš Friedl
Czech Republic Petr Kovačka
5–7, 4–6
Loss 1–5 Feb 2000 Great Britain F2, Chigwell Carpet (i) France Maxime Boyé United Kingdom James Davidson
Sweden Fredrik Loven
6–7(1–7), 6–7(5–7)
Win 2–5 Feb 2000 Croatia F2, Zagreb Clay Austria Clemens Trimmel Finland Tapio Nurminen
Finland Janne Ojala
6–4, 6–4
Win 3–5 Mar 2000 France F7, Poitiers Hard (i) France Maxime Boyé Sweden Robert Lindstedt
Sweden Fredrik Lovén
5–7, 6–3, 7–6(7–1)
Win 4–5 Mar 2001 France F6, Poitiers Carpet (i) Croatia Lovro Zovko Switzerland Yves Allegro
Belgium Arnaud Fontaine
7–6(7–3), 6–7(5–7), 6–2
Loss 4–6 May 2001 Germany F2, Esslingen Clay Australia Paul Baccanello Germany Franz Stauder
Germany Alexander Waske
5–7, 6–1, 4–6

National representation

Team competition finals

Davis Cup: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Result Date Tournament Surface Partners Opponents Score
Win Dec 2005 Davis Cup, Bratislava, Slovakia Hard (i) Croatia Ivan Ljubičić
Croatia Mario Ančić
Croatia Goran Ivanišević
Slovakia Dominik Hrbatý
Slovakia Karol Kučera
Slovakia Michal Mertiňák
3–2
Loss Nov 2016 Davis Cup, Zagreb, Croatia Hard (i) Croatia Marin Čilić
Croatia Ivan Dodig
Croatia Franko Škugor
Argentina Juan Martín del Potro
Argentina Federico Delbonis
Argentina Leonardo Mayer
Argentina Guido Pella
2–3

World Team Cup: 1 (1 title)

Result Date Tournament Surface Partners Opponents Score
Win May 2006 World Team Cup, Düsseldorf, Germany Clay Croatia Ivan Ljubičić
Croatia Mario Ančić
Germany Nicolas Kiefer
Germany Alexander Waske
Germany Michael Kohlmann
2–1

Davis Cup (13–14)

Group membership
World Group (7–12)
WG Play-off (2–1)
Group I (0–1)
Group II (4–0)
Matches by surface
Hard (8–6)
Clay (1–7)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (4–1)
Matches by type
Singles (9–10)
Doubles (4–4)
Matches by venue
Croatia (8–8)
Away (5–6)
Result Rubber Match type (partner if any) Opponent nation Opponent player(s) Score
Increase5–0; 14–16 July 2000; Fitzwilliam L.T.C. Dublin, Ireland; Group II Europe/Africa Second round; Carpet surface
Victory III Doubles (with Goran Ivanišević) Republic of Ireland Ireland Scott Barron / Owen Casey 6–7(5–7), 6–2, 6–1, 6–1
Victory IV Singles (dead rubber) Conor Niland 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Increase5–0; 6–8 October 2000; Mladost Trsat Hall, Rijeka, Croatia; Group II Europe/Africa Third round; Carpet surface
Victory III Doubles (with Goran Ivanišević) Ivory Coast Ivory Coast Ilou Lonfo / Claude N'Goran 7–6(8–6), 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 4–6, 6–0
Victory V Singles (dead rubber) Claude N'Goran 6–4, 6–1
Decrease2–3; 5–7 April 2002; Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina; World Group Quarterfinals; Clay surface
Defeat II Singles Argentina Argentina Juan Ignacio Chela 7–5, 4–6, 4–6, 2–6
Defeat V Singles Gastón Gaudio 4–6, 4–6, 2–6
Decrease1–4; 6–8 February 2004; Les Arenes, Metz, France; World Group First round; Clay surface
Defeat II Doubles (with Mario Ančić) France France Nicolas Escudé / Michaël Llodra 1–6, 6–7(5–7), 3–6
Defeat IV Singles (dead rubber) Nicolas Escudé 6–7(5–7), 2–6
Increase3–2; 23–25 September 2005; Dvorana SC Gripe, Split, Croatia; World Group Semifinals; Carpet surface
Defeat V Singles (dead rubber) Russia Russia Dmitry Tursunov 4–6, 4–6
Increase3–2; 11–13 April 2008; Sportska Dvorana, Dubrovnik, Croatia; Group I Europe/Africa Second round; Hard surface
Defeat I Singles Italy Italy Simone Bolelli 6–7(7–9), 3–6, 4–6
Increase4–1; 19–21 September 2008; Sportski Centar Visnjik, Zadar, Croatia; World Group play-offs; Hard surface
Victory II Singles Brazil Brazil Thiago Alves 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–3), 7–5
Defeat III Doubles (with Lovro Zovko) Marcelo Melo / André Sá 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 5–7, 7–6(7–5), 3–6
Victory IV Singles Thomaz Bellucci 7–6(7–5), 6–4, 6–7(6–8), 7–6(7–4)
Increase5–0; 6–8 March 2009; Visenamjenska Sportska Dvorana "Zatika", Poreč, Croatia; World Group First round; Hard surface
Victory V Singles (dead rubber) Chile Chile Hans Podlipnik Castillo 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Increase3–2; 10–12 July 2009; Visenamjenska Sportska Dvorana "Zatika", Poreč, Croatia; World Group Quarterfinals; Clay surface
Victory I Singles United States United States James Blake 6–7(5–7), 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–3), 7–5
Decrease1–4; 18–20 September 2009; Visenamjenska Sportska Dvorana "Zatika", Poreč, Croatia; World Group Semifinals; Clay surface
Defeat I Singles Czech Republic Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek 7–6(7–5), 6–7(5–7), 6–7(6–8), 7–6(7–2), 14–16
Increase5–0; 5–7 March 2010; Gradska Sportska Dvorana Varazdin, Varaždin, Croatia; World Group First round; Hard surface
Victory I Singles Ecuador Ecuador Nicolás Lapentti 6–2, 5–7, 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 6–4
Victory III Doubles (with Marin Čilić) Giovanni Lapentti / Nicolás Lapentti 7–6(7–3), 6–3, 7–5
Decrease2–3; 4–6 March 2011; Dom Sportova, Zagreb, Croatia; World Group First round; Hard surface
Defeat III Doubles (with Ivan Dodig) Germany Germany Christopher Kas / Philipp Petzschner 3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 3–6, 4–6
Defeat V Singles Philipp Petzschner 4–6, 6–7(3–7), 6–7(5–7)
Increase3–2; 10–12 February 2012; Bourbon Beans Dome, Kobe, Japan; World Group First round; Hard surface
Victory II Singles Japan Japan Kei Nishikori 6–4, 6–4, 6–3
Victory III Doubles (with Ivan Dodig) Tatsuma Ito / Yūichi Sugita 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Victory V Singles Go Soeda 7–6(7–4), 6–1, 6–4
Decrease1–4; 6–8 April 2012; Parque Roca, Buenos Aires, Argentina; World Group Quarterfinals; Clay surface
Defeat II Singles Argentina Argentina Juan Martín del Potro 2–6, 6–7(7–9), 1–6
Defeat III Doubles (with Marin Čilić) David Nalbandian / Eduardo Schwank 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 3–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–8
Decrease2–3; 25–27 November 2016; Arena Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia; World Group Final; Hard surface
Defeat II Singles Argentina Argentina Juan Martín del Potro 4–6, 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 5–7
Defeat V Singles Federico Delbonis 3–6, 4–6, 2–6

Wins over top 10 players

  • He has a 21–62 (25.3%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
Season 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total
Wins 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 2 2 0 1 0 1 2 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 21
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score IK Rank
2003
1. Australia Lleyton Hewitt 2 Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom Grass 1R 1–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–3, 6–4 203
2005
2. Australia Lleyton Hewitt 2 Queen's Club, London, United Kingdom Grass QF 7–6(7–4), 6–3 77
3. United States Andy Roddick 3 Madrid, Spain Hard (i) 2R 3–6, 7–6(9–7), 7–6(7–3) 86
2006
4. Russia Nikolay Davydenko 6 Barcelona, Spain Clay 2R 6–7(7–9), 7–5, 6–4 56
2007
5. United States James Blake 6 San Jose, United States Hard (i) 2R 6–7(4–7), 7–6(13–11), 6–4 103
6. Germany Tommy Haas 10 Houston, United States Clay QF 7–6(9–7), 6–4 108
7. United States James Blake 8 French Open, Paris, France Clay 1R 4–6, 6–4, 7–5, 7–5 85
8. United States James Blake 7 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) 2R 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–4 25
2008
9. Switzerland Roger Federer 1 Cincinnati, United States Hard 3R 7–6(8–6), 4–6, 7–6(7–5) 22
10. Serbia Novak Djokovic 3 Madrid, Spain Hard (i) 3R 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5) 21
2009
11. France Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 9 Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom Grass 3R 7–6(7–5), 6–7(5–7), 7–5, 7–6(7–5) 36
12. Spain Fernando Verdasco 8 Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom Grass 4R 7–6(7–5), 6–7(4–7), 6–3, 7–6(11–9) 36
2011
13. Spain David Ferrer 6 Indian Wells, United States Hard 2R 7–6(7–3), 6–3 239
2013
14. Czech Republic Tomáš Berdych 7 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) 1R 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–2) 83
2014
15. Czech Republic Tomáš Berdych 7 Doha, Qatar Hard 1R 7–6(9–7), 7–6(7–4) 78
16. Croatia Marin Čilić 9 Shanghai, China Hard 1R 7–5, 2–6, 7–6(7–2) 31
2015
17. Serbia Novak Djokovic 1 Doha, Qatar Hard QF 6–7(2–7), 7–6(8–6), 6–4 27
18. Czech Republic Tomáš Berdych 6 Halle, Germany Grass QF 7–5, 6–7(8–10), 6–3 27
19. Canada Milos Raonic 10 Montreal, Canada Hard 2R 7–6(7–1), 7–6(7–1) 23
20. Switzerland Stan Wawrinka 4 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) 1R 3–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–4 23
2017
21. Croatia Marin Čilić 7 Rosmalen, Netherlands Grass SF 7–6(7–4), 5–7, 7–6(7–2) 24

Notes

  1. ^ The final itself was played on indoor hard due to rain.[60]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ivo Karlovic: A Game of Inches". ATP. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  2. ^ "ATP Prize Money Leaders" (PDF).
  3. ^ "Ìvan". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 17 March 2018. Ívo
  4. ^ "Kȃrlo". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 17 March 2018. Kȃrlović
  5. ^ "Players | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  6. ^ "Serve and volley world rankings: Pierre-Hugues Herbert leads, Maxime Cressy soon number 1?". 20 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Pete Sampras and the Top 25 Servers in the History of Men's Tennis". Bleacher Report.
  8. ^ "Analysis of the Ivo Karlovic Serve Technique". 15 January 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d "News | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  10. ^ "Davis Cup 2016: John Isner breaks serve speed record with 253km/h bomb". 6 March 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Ivo Karlovic". ontennis.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010.
  12. ^ "Aces | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  13. ^ Karlovic Sets All-Times Aces Record Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  14. ^ "Karlovic Cracks 10,000th Ace". 12 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  15. ^ "Federer's Post Match Interview: Karlovic. From bigfish. Thanks". 1 August 2008.
  16. ^ "Roddick handles Karlovic, serve". The Washington Times.
  17. ^ "Tom Perrotta – Ivo has the best serve". Archived from the original on 4 December 2008.
  18. ^ "Ivo Karlovic junior profile". ITF Tennis. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Hewitt crashes out". BBC News. 23 June 2003. Retrieved 23 June 2003.
  20. ^ "TENNIS: ROUNDUP; Federer Wins 20th Straight ATP Final". The New York Times. Associated Press. 13 June 2005.
  21. ^ "Davis Cup player profile – Ivo Karlovic". International Tennis Federation (ITF).
  22. ^ "Karlovic Wins Behind Serve". The New York Times. 14 October 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
  23. ^ "Aussie Open day three quotes". BBC News. 16 January 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  24. ^ BBC World Sport Today 19 September 2009.
  25. ^ "Ivo Karlovic Withdraws from Wimbledon with Foot Injury". Archived from the original on 23 June 2010.
  26. ^ "Wimbledon 2012". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  27. ^ Briggs, Simon (28 June 2012). "Wimbledon 2012: Ivo Karlovic questions tournament's integrity after bitter defeat at hands of Andy Murray". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  28. ^ "Karlovic Fires into Australian Open Record Books with Zeballos Win | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  29. ^ "Karlovic, Muller set-up oldest final in 41 years". The Times of India. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.[permanent dead link]
  30. ^ "Karlovic Becomes Oldest Challenger Champion". ATP World Tour. 21 October 2018.
  31. ^ "Battle of the Ages: Karlovic Overcomes Felix in Pune | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  32. ^ "Defying Age, Karlovic Oldest ATP Finalist in 42 Years". Tennis Now. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  33. ^ "The 40 Club: Karlovic Scores Historic Win". ATP Tour. 8 March 2019.
  34. ^ "Ageless Ivo Karlovic Books Alexander Bublik Battle In Newport". ATP Tour. 13 July 2021.
  35. ^ "Former Top 20 Player Ivo Karlovic To Retire". Ubitennis. 19 July 2021.
  36. ^ "Ivo Karlovic: I think I'll retire at US Open but I might change my mind". 22 July 2021.
  37. ^ "History-Making Karlovic: 'I Really Have Nothing To Lose'". ATP Tour. 29 August 2021.
  38. ^ "US Open: Meet the 16 Men's Singles Qualifiers".
  39. ^ https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/39567167/ivo-karlovic-officially-announces-retirement-tennis
  40. ^ https://www.atptour.com/en/news/karlovic-announces-retirement-february-2024
  41. ^ "Kaotična godina hrvatskog tenisa". Index.hr (in Croatian). 31 December 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  42. ^ "Misterij Karlović: Čovjek koji je Olimpijske igre otkazao SMS-om". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  43. ^ "Mateša: Karlović je iskazao potpuno odsustvo odgovornosti". Vjesnik (in Croatian). 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  44. ^ Monte Carlo Masters. "Ferrer, Davydenko Advance in Straight Sets". Monte Carlo Masters. Archived from the original on 27 April 2008. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
  45. ^ "ATPtennis.com – Tennis news from around the world". 11 October 2007. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.
  46. ^ "Karlovic becomes third player to notch 9,000 aces". en.espn.co.uk. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  47. ^ Ivo Karlovic sets world serve record
  48. ^ Karlovic serves up record 156 mph blast
  49. ^ a b Karlovic Stats Archived 3 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  50. ^ "Yahoo UK & Ireland – Sports News | Live Scores | Results". uk.sports.yahoo.com.
  51. ^ "Ivo Karlovic is Currently the Tallest Player in the ATP". Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  52. ^ "Ivo Karlovic | OnTennis.com". Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  53. ^ Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  54. ^ Retrieved on 20 June 2015.
  55. ^ Karlovic Sets All-Times Aces Record. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  56. ^ "Aces | ATP World Tour | Tennis". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  57. ^ Bodo, Peter (13 July 2022). "Does John Isner belong in the International Tennis Hall of Fame?". Tennis.com. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  58. ^ "Tenisač Ivo Karlović i supruga Alsiona postali roditelji djevojčice" (in Croatian). Večernji list. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  59. ^ "Six things about being 6' 10". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). 10 September 2007.
  60. ^ "Karlovic retains Nottingham tennis title". Reuters. 21 June 2008.

External links

Records
Preceded by Fastest serve world record holder
6 March 2011 – 12 May 2012
Succeeded by