Quotes of the day - 1 July 2009

Ivo Karlovic plans his next move against Roger Federer in their quarter-final match. "I think the crowd's gonna be electric. I think it's gonna be a great atmosphere, and one that I can certainly appreciate, even if it's not for me. I'm just gonna pretend when they say, C'mon, Andy, that they mean me (smiling). " Andy Roddick looking forward to his semi-final match with Andy Murray on Friday. “I didn't return well, and that's the bottom line. I think I was returning really bad. You know, return is one of my ‑ I mean, I think I can say one of my strength strokes in the game. But today was a real disaster.” Honesty is always the best policy. As Novak Djokovic proved after his quarter final defeat to Tommy Haas. “Next thing you know, I'm down in the tiebreak, 3‑6. Then I just yelled at myself at 3‑6 basically, Wake up. This ace good chance to go up two sets to love. Within a minute I won five points in a row. That was huge, I think, to kind of give me the two sets to love lead.” Tommy Haas on the realization that consciousness is an important state during a tie break in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam. “I think it's good for tennis any time you get, you know, big stars or celebrities coming to watch. It makes it, I guess, cooler for kids and stuff, which is important in this country.” Andy Murray discovers the secret to making a sport successful. Make it cool for the kids. “Like I said before the match, I enjoy the match playing Ivo. It's not fair to call him boring. He's got a phenomenal serve. The way he backs it up with his volleys, it's quite something. I think it's exciting actually to go see him play.” Breaking news: Ivo Karlovic is exciting to watch because Roger Federer says so. “Oh, it is only because he is better than everybody else. That's it.” News that you are likely to have known already brought to you by Ivo Karlovic. “Feeling pretty confident at the moment. You guys don't talk about the last one. You just keep going back to '05. Everything on the TV is '05. There was one in between that. Everyone's forgotten.” Lleyton Hewitt exposes the English for ‘forgetting’ the Ashes whitewash last time around.

Federer sings praises of older players

Ivo Karlovic congratulates Roger Federer on his straight sets victory. His penchant for cardigans already seemed to give it away, but on Wednesday, Roger Federer confirmed the fact that he is a card-carrying member of the older generation and proud of it. He had just defeated hard-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic in straight sets to book a place in his 21st consecutive Grand Slam semi-final, and for once the candidates to join him in the final four were far nearer their 30s than just into their 20s. “To be quite honest, I'm very happy that so many [older] guys have made it through to the second week, to the quarter-final stages. I'm very happy Ferrero’s come a long way again, because sometimes he gets forgotten next to all the hype in Spain with Rafa (Nadal). Obviously we'll have Andy (Roddick) or Lleyton (Hewitt) going through,” said Federer, who will turn 28 in August. “I like a good mix, so that it's not always just the young guys and me. “Sure it's cool once in a while, but I still like to play the guys also who I used to play when I came up and who were my main rivals for many years. I played against Ferrero (29 last February) in juniors, Hewitt (28 last February) as well. I didn’t play Roddick (27 in August) but we obviously met back in the day in finals (Wimbledon 2004 and 2005, US Open 2006).” “After a certain amount of years, you have a very solid base, and then you start working on the little details and they come out in key moments of the match. I think this is where every player tries to make a big push in their own game,” said the number two seed. The man he will meet in Friday's semi-final is another veteran. At 31 years and 3 months, Tommy Haas was the oldest man in the last eight but his recent form on grass – capturing the title in Halle then winning five straight matches here – makes him a dangerous, if familiar adversary for Federer. “I’ve trained with him a lot, and I knew that it was just a matter of time before he started getting good results again,” said the Swiss about the three-time Australian Open semi-finalist who underwent shoulder surgery in November 2007 and plummeted out of the top 50. “We’ve got closer recently, training then going for something to eat together afterwards. It’s great when someone shows the determination to come back after injury. “I’m really pleased for him – he played great in Paris [coming within five points of eliminating Federer in the fourth round on the clay of Roland Garros] and I know the danger that I’ll be facing as grass and hard court suit him better. I’d rather play Haas than Djokovic as he’s someone from my generation,” Federer summed up.

One to watch: Ivo Karlovic

Ivo Karlovic Ivo Karlovic knows what people say about him. They say he has just one shot – his serve. Statistics bear this out. This tournament, the Croat has served 102 aces. Andy Roddick, another player with a big serve, has hit 72. At the French Open this year, Karlovic set the record for most aces in a match – 55 against Lleyton Hewitt – in a game he lost. It is a simple case of physics really. Karlovic at 6’10”, is the tallest player in professional tennis, and his fastest serve has been recorded at 153mph. When a tennis ball is coming at you that fast from that height, it doesn’t matter if your name is Roger Federer, you are going to have trouble getting it back. That is the whole point of watching Karlovic. In the modern era when people complain that no one plays serve and volley tennis, he plays serve and volley tennis. It’s just that most times he does not have to volley because his serve does enough to win the point. Nobody has broken Karlovic’s serve at Wimbledon this year. In fact, of his three opponents, only one has created a break point opportunity – Lukas Lacko, who won none of the four he won. On grass, he can be impossible to play. In 2003, Karlovic, then was ranked 203 in the world, became the first player since 1965 to beat the defending Wimbledon champion on the opening day when he beat Lleyton Hewitt. Alternatively, he is very beatable. Between 2005 and 2008, he did not win a match at the All England Club. In an era when people complain that everyone plays from the baseline, Karlovic offers something different. No one is saying that it is the prettiest style of tennis, but it is different. Ask Karlovic how he feels to be called a one-shot wonder and he replies: “I like it, because if I can win with only one shot, I'm, I don't know, a genius, so I like it.”

Ivo Karlovic reaches for it

Karlovic a big hit against Tsonga

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga battles the fierce Ivo Karlovic serve in the third round. Ivo Karlovic served his way to victory with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) win over the eighth seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France on No.1 Court. It was a fine win for the 22nd seed at the age of 30 because he had been beaten in the first round for each of the past four years here and despite having a game suited for grass, may have given up hope of ever making a significant breakthrough at SW19. The whole of the Croatian’s Grand Slam experiences do not match what he did today with the exception of Wimbledon five years ago when he lost in the fourth round to Roger Federer. At 6ft 10in. Karlovic is the tallest player to have been ranked in the top 100 and his considerable height is part of the intrigue that surrounds his approach to matches. He is uniquely equipped to serve dangerously and has the fitness and perseverance to do so for as long as is required. But it is not simply that weapon that put Karlovic into the fourth round where he will face Fernando Verdasco of Spain who will also fancy his chances in a serving contest. The Croatian had to bring a whole package of abilities to the court to cope with the challenge of Tsonga, six years his junior and 13 places higher in the seedings. Facing such a big server, Tsonga knew what was coming even though he had not played Karlovic previously. But the Frenchman is no slouch himself when it comes to serve and volley, which is why he was able to sustain his challenge for so long. Karlovic served 46 aces against 26 by Tsonga, which was one way of measuring the gap between them but there was a strong streak of defiance about Tsonga’s manner, which endeared him to the crowd, particularly in the last two sets when he was serving second and chasing rather than setting a target. Not much in this match was dependent on subtle play. There was no room for that in the grinding tennis for which both players were prepared. If there were some special shots they usually came from Tsonga, such as a backhand crosscourt winner in the second set, a shot through his legs when he faced the back of the court in the fourth. But otherwise it was all power. Karlovic won two of the three tie-breaks and in that sense finished the match in persuasive style. From 4-3 behind in the final tiebreak he won three quick points. The last, coming from a forehand error by Tsonga off a powerful return, took him to his first match point. He failed to convert the first but yet another ace settled it. Of course. Court 1 - Gentlemen's Singles - 3rd Round Ivo Karlovic CRO (22) 77 65 7 77 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (9) 65 77 5 65

Match analysis: Karlovic v Tsonga

Ivo Karlovic in the third round battle of the big hitters with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Two of the most ferocious servers on the ATP World Tour faced each other in the third round, meeting in a Grand Slam for the first time on a packed No.1 Court. This battle royale between the tallest man on the tour, Ivo Karlovic, and the player nicknamed “The Muhammed Ali of Tennis,” Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, intrigued the crowd watching two players with the best, and third best, first serves in the world. Just four weeks ago at Roland Garros, Karlovic smashed his way into the record books with the most aces in one match. He hit an incredible 55 aces, breaking his 2005 record set at Wimbledon of 51. Both players' first serves leave their rackets at speeds in excess of 135mph. The reaction times to return these serves is 0.6 seconds, which is why you have to accept that when the serves go in, they will not come back. On average, Karlovic will win the point 84% of the time and Tsonga 78%. So, for most of the match, the crowd watched the ball fly by the returner or clip the racket and spray anywhere but in the court. If the ball happened to be returned, Karlovic or Tsonga would be there to clean up the mess as the return would probably land in their court slow and short. In this situation, Karlovic likes to use his reach and pops up at the net to finish the point. Tsonga, on the other hand, prefers to use his forehand. What makes Karlovic unique is that his serve flies off his racket from a height no one else can match and he can hit the most ridiculous angles harder and faster than any player on the tour. This means the returner has to be very patient and work hard to avoid going the distance to a tiebreak. In the close-fought battle for first serve supremacy, Karlovic triumphed, winning 89% of the points The second serves are where both men are at their most vulnerable and have to use ”Plan B”. Karlovic uses his backhand slice to stay in the point and wait to approach the net with his forehand. Tsonga is more versatile, hence his higher ranking, and is capable of hitting winners from anywhere in the court. He tends to play a high risk game that sometimes can lead to the sort of errors that can cost him the match. But, more often than not, it leads to him controlling the points with his raw power, making him one of the top entertainers on the men’s circuit. In the battle for first serve supremacy, Karlovic triumphed, winning 89% of the points, while Tsonga was just behind the Croatian with 85%. The man from Le Mans was performing well on his second serve, but hesitation cost him in the tiebreak and the opening set belonged to Karlovic. The first break of the match almost came early in the second set, but it was not converted, so the match entered another “coin-flip” tiebreak, and Tsonga held on to level the match. In a match where it is nearly impossible to break serve, each player must get the first ones in, especially at the key moments. Sometimes Karlovic can stutter but today Tsonga collapsed under the pressure at the end of the third set, handing Karlovic the 12th game as he achieved the only break of serve in the match in the 38th game of the match. This put too much pressure on the ninth seed, who capitulated in the fourth set tiebreak, again missing his first serves when they were most needed, to lose the match 7-6, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6. The whole match was a flawless Karlovic master class, with 90% first serve points won and 46 aces. He was also triumphant 73% of the time on his second serve, so it was no surprise that Tsonga had no break points. During the rallies, the Croat ventured to the net in 71 of the 140 points he won throughout the match, and, of the 29 points he won off Tsonga’s serve, his reward was one break point out of two break point chances. It is hard to find anything wrong with the Frenchman’s performance, other then bad timing with a few of his 44 missed first serves.