KARLOVIC HITS 10,000TH ACE IN MONTREAL, DJOKOVIC OPENS WITH VICTORY

Written by: Staff on 12th August 2015

KARLOVIC HITS 10,000TH ACE IN MONTREAL, DJOKOVIC OPENS WITH VICTORY |

“@ivokarlovic hits his 10,000th ace en route to an upset over eighth seed Milos #Raonic at the @couperogers. #ATP #tennis #couperogers #aces #milestone #Karlovic” – Photo by @atpworldtour via Instagram.

Ricky Dimon Reports From Montreal as Ivo Karlovic hits 10,000th Ace! Djokovic opens with victory

Ivo Karlovic became the second man to reach the 10,000 aces mark in his career during his 7-6(1), 7-6(1) victory over Milos Raonic in the second round of the Rogers Cup on Tuesday night.

Karlovic now has 10,004 aces, good for No. 2 on the all-time list behind 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic (10,183). Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, and Pete Sampras round out the top five.

Next on the active list are Feliciano Lopez (ninth overall) and John Isner (10th).

“I was moving unbelievable this evening,” Karlovic commented. “Everything was going my way. So I’m really, really happy with my performance tonight. I was really focused and aggressive. I was hitting forehands unbelievable. I was running around. I mean, everything was going my way. That’s why it was this score in the tiebreaks.”

Novak Djokovic at the Rogers Cup tennis in Montreal. Photo by @novakfanclub via Instagram.

Novak Djokovic had to play one tiebreaker but managed to hold off Thomaz Bellucci 6-3, 7-6(4). The world No. 1 saved all five of the break points he faced–three in the first set and two in the second–before getting the job done in one hour and 49 minutes.

“It takes a little bit of time to get into the rhythm, get into the groove,” Djokovic said of his first hard-court match this summer. “I think tomorrow’s doubles match will also help me to work on certain aspects of my game and get ready for the next one…. Credit to [Bellucci] for playing some really solid, resilient tennis, not giving up, getting a lot of balls back, serving well.”

Only Djokovic and Karlovic are through to the last 16, as the night match between Andy Murray and Tommy Robredo was postponed during the first set due to rain. Among the first-round winners on Tuesday were John Isner, Jack Sock, Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin, Nick Kyrgios, Ernests Gulbis, Vasek Pospisil, and Jo-WIlfried Tsonga.

Briefs

* Karlovic cracks 10,000th ace, upset of Raonic could put him in top 20

* Sock outlasts Mannarino, can reach top 30 with one more win

* Kyrgios downs Verdasco, likely into top 40

* Chardy wins all-French battle with Mahut, needs one more win for top 40

* Rosol takes out Anderson, almost guaranteed a place in top 60

* Gulbis saves MPs against Thiem, will reach top 80 with one more victory

* Youzhny surprises Troicki, will be back in top 100 if he advances to R3

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10000th ace, 10sballs.com, Atp World Tour, Ivo Karlovic, milos raonic, Montreal, Novak Djokovic, Ricky Dimon, Rogers Cup, Sports, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

August 12, 2015 at 10:00 am

@ivokarlovic HITS #10000thAce IN #Montreal, @DjokerNole OPENS WITH VICTORY http://t.co/MBva34K2yb @rogerscup #Karlovic #RogersCup #tennis