Karlovic loss saves me 250 big ones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was no-one happier than me that Roger Federer defeated Ivo Karlovic in straight sets earlier today.

One of my friends is a massive Karlovic supporter and two years ago I bet him £250 that Big Ivo would not reach a grand slam semi final in his career and my goodness, he came a little bit too close to achieving this feat for my liking.

Federer, who has reached his 21st consequtive grand slam semi final, thankfully tamed the big serving Croatian in style breaking him twice with relevant ease.

Breaking the 6′10 giant was particularly significant as he had not been broken in a match since he arrived in England for the grass court season a month ago!

It’s not that I’m not a fan of the Croatian, in fact I love watching him hit aces past everyone, it’s just that if a rally develops he will lose the point 8 times of out 10.

I generally thought he had a chance against Federer today however the Swiss master picked off his massive serves brilliantly. This was seriously a returning clinic and a pleasure to watch from the five-time Wimbledon champion.

But Karlovic will be very pleased with his overall performance at Wimbledon as he has made his first ever quarter final appearance in a grand slam taking out two top ten players along the way in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Fernando Verdasco.

If you have been won over by the Croatian giant’s massive serve and dodgy ground strokes join this Facebook group – ‘Ivo Karlovic – The King of Tennis’.

In depth analysis – Nicolas Almagro vs Karol Beck

Wimbledon second round match analysis - Nicolas Almagro vs Karol Beck

By Amir Mehrad, the newest addition to the Tennis Centre writing team.

On paper, this looked to be fairly straight forward encounter for Nicolas Almagro.

Ranked 95 places higher than what turned out to be a formidable opponent in Karol Beck, he arrived on court first and looked ready to progress. That looked the case from early on, as he used his powerful forehand to devastating effect.

Rallies were scarce in the first set as both players struggled to come to terms with each others high percentage of first serves which were proving critical to each game. However, the world number 48 and clay court specialist Nicolas Almagro finally got the break he desired and took the first set with relative ease 6-4.
 
Beck, who dropped to a ranking of 927 in the world after a two year drug ban in 2005, seemed somewhat dejected as he failed to make any real impact in the second set especially on Almagro service games, and even though it was tight there only seemed to be one outcome as the Spaniard took the set 7-6 (7-2).

While the crowd assumed the match was a formality from here on, Beck most certainly did not and looked to turn the contest around by upping his level and introducing a more skilful approach to his game in the third set. He hit the ball flatter and with more slice which didn’t allow Almagro as much time to get his forehand into play which had been so effective in the first two sets. 

The Slovakian also started to hit a number of clever drop shots throughout the games which caught the Spanish number 8 off-guard. This gave him a lift and through determination, skill and adaption and a little help from Almagro’s ongoing argument with the umpire, Beck managed to take the next two sets 6/3 6/4.
 
Moving into the fifth Beck was full of confidence as he had steam rolled through the third and fourth sets and an almost impossible comeback was now very much on. However Almagro started to improve causing the world number 148 to tense up which was seen early on in the contest and the momentum switched once again. Almagro’s class and superior fitness levels  shone through and after a gruelling five set match, Almagro finally took the victory to a standing ovation. A truly entertaining match.