Ivo Karlovic 2019 Season in Review
Ranking at the beginning of the season: 100
Ranking at the end of the season: 95
Peak rank: 69
Low rank: 106
Ranking change: +5
Singles win/loss record: 22-21 (11-15 in ATP main draw matches)
Titles: –
Finals: Pune, Houston CH
With Ivo Karlovic turning 41 in February, would it be wise to ask for more? A 17th straight top 100 finish allows him to clinch a main draw berth for the 2020 Australian Open. Failing to achieve so could have potentially finished his career as two years ago Ivo planned to retire if he couldn’t get a spot at Roland Garros. He managed to do it in the end and is still traveling the tour as the only man in his forties in the top 500 of the ATP Rankings. But this year could have been so much better if he only took a couple of points here or there.
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against Kevin Anderson (5th of January, ATP 250 in Pune Final)
It was a brilliant run for Ivo Karlovic, who arrived having been broken just once in the entire tournament. The Croatian blasted 88 aces combined to get through Auger-Aliassime, Donskoy, Gulbis and Darcis. With his final opponent Kevin Anderson playing a similarly serve-oriented game, three tie-breaks weren’t something that came unexpectedly. Back from the brink of defeat at 15-40 5-6 in the final set, Karlovic was playing sublime in the deciding tie-break.
The oldest ATP Tour finalist since Ken Rosewall in 1977 went up 5-2 and although he lost the next two points, with Karlovic having two serves at 5-4 it seemed like at least a match point was guaranteed. But after two lackluster-ish serves directed to Anderson’s forehand, Ivo found himself at a disadvantageous position at the net twice. The South African didn’t blink and ruthlessly passed Karlovic twice, before blasting his 21st ace of the match to seal the deal.
Can Ivo be excused for this one? He never fathomed a breakpoint on his opponent’s serve and he was stupendous in saving all eight that he had to face. But when the opportunity he fought for so hard arrived, his biggest weapon couldn’t find the right spots. That one hurt. But the worst was yet to come.
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against Kei Nishikori (17th of January, Australian Open 2nd round)
Just a couple of weeks later, Ivo Karlovic arrived at the first Grand Slam of the year. Dealt an uneasy opening against Hubert Hurkacz, the Croatian smashed 39 aces and took 3 of 4 tie-breaks to deliver a slight upset. Next up was Kei Nishikori.
The Japanese is one of the best baseliners in the game and with Karlovic’s return game certainly not a strength of his, the Croatian was unable to find openings in the first two sets. Up 6-3 7-6 5-5, it seemed like Nishikori will be able to steamroll towards the end. But in a sudden twist, Karlovic was able to string together a few good points and broke to love, consolidating to get on the scoreboard.
Suddenly upping his game, he delivered two consecutive backhand winners (a very rare sight!) to break Nishikori again at 5-5 in the fourth. And it seemed like the deciding set might follow suit, with the Japanese once again down three break points, this time at 4-4. Nishikori did well to keep Karlovic slicing his backhand defensively but when finally given an opening, the Croatian misfired an aggressive forehand and wasted all three opportunities. A deciding tie-break (first to 10 points followed).
Up 7-6 and serving twice, he was in a good position to give himself match points. Despite acing his opponent 59 times prior to that point, free points were not to come this time and Karlovic missed both volleys he had on his racket. A shanked backhand return meant that after almost four hours of play, it was Nishikori who triumphed 6-3 7-6 5-7 5-7 7-6.
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against Marcus Giron (17th of November, Houston Challenger Final)
The last chance to secure his 17th straight top 100 finish came at the Houston Challenger. Surviving tough moments against Sekou Bangoura and Christopher O’Connell, Karlovic’s final run meant that he achieved the goal. We find Ivo in a familiar situation – 5-5 in the third, three break points up. This time you can’t blame the Croatian for wasting them though as Giron played two excellent passing shots and a well-constructed point finished off with a smash to ensure the tie-break. What happened there is something you can definitely blame Ivo for.
A double fault and a weird forehand miss had Giron on the back foot from the get-go. Karlovic soon led 6-1. That should be enough right? Not for the Croatian, who played a very poor slice at the net and then an even worse backhand volley to give away both match point opportunities on his own delivery. A second serve clipping the net and landing in saved Ivo from losing on Giron’s first match point. The pair traded service holds before Karlovic completely mishit a half-volley and gave the American a chance on serve. Doing what the Croatian should have done a couple of points earlier, Giron blasted an ace down the T and completed the remarkable comeback.
Karlovic missed a chance to improve on his own record of the oldest ATP Challenger Tour trophy winner.
What can we expect from Ivo Karlovic in 2020?
Will Ivo Karlovic be another person to announce his retirement soon? Unless he manages to stay around Grand Slam main draw cut-off level, that seems to be a certainty. The first three months of the year might hit him hard as 240 of his 586 ATP points come from the Pune final and the 4th round at Indian Wells.
Grass court season is certainly something he can improve on as his biggest result was a quarterfinal at the Surbiton Challenger. Thomas Fabbiano or Guido Andreozzi are not players he should be losing to on grass. But ultimately, we need to remember that even with such little taxing playstyle, no one has played quite as well as Karlovic at this age since Ken Rosewall in the seventies.
Clutchness was never his strong suit and especially with his playstyle, many matches were and will be decided on a point or two here or there. But aside for these chokes that sadly had their share in defining that season for Karlovic, his 35-23 tie-break win/loss record this year is certainly a silver lining and a thing of major importance, as it was the way of deciding the winner of 58 of 113 sets he played in 2019.
Main Photo from Getty.
