New criteria for success: age, size
At 6-11 , 39-year-old Karlovic a poster boy for current trend
It has been a good couple of weeks for old guys and tall guys on the ATP World Tour.
John Isner, who is 6-10 and will celebrate his 33rd birthday later this month, begins his pursuit of a second career Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship and a second consecutive ATP World Tour title when he plays Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen in a second-round match Thursday at River Oaks Country Club.
Ivo Karlovic, who is 6-11 and celebrated his 39th birthday in February, already has won twice in Houston, thereby becoming the oldest quarterfinalist in the tournament at least since the Open Era began in 1968. Karlovic also is through to the doubles quarterfinals partnering with Daniel Nestor, who turns 46 in November. Nestor is a mere 6-3, though. Then we have the Bryan twins, Bob and Mike. They’re 6-4 and they’ll hit 40 on April 29, three days after Isner — just a kid by comparison, really — blows out his candles. They celebrated early with Isner in Miami, though, collecting their fifth doubles title there the afternoon before he claimed his firstMaster 1000s tournament championship anywhere.
The Bryans took out Taro Daniel and Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1, 6-1 in Wednesday’s nightcap for their 39th career match victories in this tournament. They were spotting the Japanese players, on average, about 18 years per.
But one tall, at least semi-old player, No. 2 seed Sam Querrey, didn’t keep the geriatric theme going. Querrey, 6-6 and 30 respectively, was upset Wednesday by Argentinian Guido Pella 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3).
Before beating Daniel in the first round, Karlovic hadn’t won a main-draw match at River Oaks since 2011 — at Isner’s expense, by a fitting 7-6 (2), 6-7 (2), 7-6 (9) score — and hadn’t even participated since 2014. But he has serious history here, having won the singles championship in 2007, the last year it was decided at Westside Tennis and Fitness. Further, his doubles win with Nestor over the Australians Nick Krygios (22) and Matt Reid (27), was his first anywhere since 2015.
“I haven’t played doubles in two years,” Karlovic said.
What made him decide to come out of doubles retirement and accept Nestor’s invitation?
“Because he’s one of the greatest (doubles players) ever,” Karlovic said. “I thought it would be fun to be the young one.”
Regarding the Canadian Nestor’s historical standing, the Croatian ranks third all-time in ATP doubles titles with 91, trailing only, of course, the Bryans. Should they prevail for a seventh time in this tournament Saturday night — they have won two Masters Cups in Houston) — Mike will have 118 and Bob 116.
The Croatian Karlovic made his Houston debut at Westside in 2004, the spring before the Bryans won their second Masters Cup there that fall, then returned in 2007 to blow through the singles draw without dropping a set, pounding Mariano Zabaleta 6-4, 6-1 in the final. In the quarters, he had eliminated the 2004 champion, Tommy Haas, with whom he has much synergy, too.
Born about 11 months before Karlovic, the German Haas remains the oldest player of the Open Era to prevail in any round in this tournament — a first-round victory last spring — and is the oldest quarterfinalist at any ATP event over the last four decades.
Haas, however, has since retired. Karlovic intends to keep going because “of my love for the sport.” But he admitted it’s harder and harder to bring his emotional “A” game for every match.
“Some days,” he said, “I would like to stay in bed.”
Wednesday was not one of them.
Karlovic took his 25year-old American adversary Denis Kudla’s best shot, ultimately saving the day with classic Ivo, which is to say by serving hard, harder and hardest, as needed. Although he concedes he has lost “maybe 10 miles per hour” velocity through the years, he still routinely surpasses 130 mph.
The 14 aces he hammered past Kudla increased his official ATP Tour record, which doesn’t count Davis Cup or Olympics matches to 12,604. That’s 2,141 more than the runner-up, 36year-old reigning Australian Open champion Roger Federer, has accumulated over the years. But Karlovic, whose career-high singles ranking was 14th in 2008 before a tough run of injuries and illness knocked him off course for several seasons, has played in fewer than half as many matches, 641 to Federer’s 1,343.
His average, going back practically to the turn of the century, is 19.6. Right, nineteen-point-six per match. Federer’s, by comparison, is 7.8. But Isner is perhaps a more fitting parallel for all the obvious reasons. As huge as he serves, his average is “only” 12.8 for 568 matches.
Karlovic admits he has long identified with Isner, almost his body double, on multiple levels. That bond has strengthened in recent years.
“Us old guys,” he said, “have to stick together.”