Leaning Tower of Croatia: Why Ivo Karlovic Should Become a Great Player

Ivo Karlovic blasts a serve down the line. As Arnaud Clement fails to touch the ball, Ivo shakes his fist and turns to the service clock_ 153 MPH_ he's tied the record. He's rewarded with and outburst of applause from the sold-out crowd in Nottingham.

Now that Karlovic has tied that record, is second in most aces in a season (1,318), 1st in most aces in a match (55) and 1st in fastest second serve (144) Dr. Ivo has to develop more of his game.

His mighty serve will set him up for an easy forehand every now and then, and he will blast a few aces in a match. But, then what do you do on your opponents serve? I watched Wimbledon and thought that he could beat Roger Federer, but Roger Federer was Roger Federer, and I watched him coast to a 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 win.

That match is a perfect example of what I am going to talk about. If he holds serve, his opponent holds serve, he holds serve, etc. they will get into tie-break. If he is facing a good player, like Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Roddick, he will most probably lose.

Also, if almost any one player breaks Ivo's serve (as did Roger Federer in that match), he will only win if he breaks back, a rarity for him.

During Wimbledon I thought he was going to vastly improve, maybe climb into the top 10. But, then he started being lazy, clumsy and a player who has one weapon. He dropped down in the rankings 19 spots—he is 33rd.

Two other losses prove my point perfectly, in the French Open first round against Lleyton Hewitt, he won the first two sets, 7-6, 7-6. The third set went to a tiebreak, but Hewitt regrouped and won the next three sets, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Ivo had set the record with 55 aces, and still lost. What? 55 aces and a loss? Why? He never broke Hewitt, not once.

The last match was against Andy Roddick at Legg Mason. He broke early in both sets. Both times, he lost one of his next two service games. The final score was a 7-6, 7-6 loss. So, whenever he builds some kind om momentum, he lets it drop.

He has been known to be a serve-and-volleyer, but as I saw at Legg Mason on Friday, he is very clumsy at the net. His forehand has improved from pretty bad to fine. His backhand is a liability and needs a bunch of work.

Players like him are a rarity, but if they do come around, they rarely improve the rest of their game. I think Ivo could be the first. His serve is dominant, and his 6'10" frame makes it nearly impossible to lob him. His first step should be to improve how he runs up to net.

Then, I would turn his forehand from a consistent sometimes powerful shot, to a real weapon. I would play with a lot of forehand and make the backhand a sometimes thing. If he masters this shot, he could become a real threat to top-tier players such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

A powerful forehand is not tough to have when you have his height. He has a lot of power, but must direct his shots more, decide where there are going to go. He can't expect his serve to set him up every time.

I would try to simply make my backhand consistent shot off which I get some winners every now and then. At Legg Mason, he tried to slice more, It was a good idea. But, he must develop his slice and regular backhand consistently.

Another thing is, that the part of his game that needs a lot of improvement is his footwork. The only other player who I can remember who played like Karlovic (most likely because he stands 6'7"), is Slobodan Zivojinovicl.

Guess what: he slightly improved the rest of his game—he was ranked 19. I know that Dr. Ivo has promise because he has already been ranked 14.

Ivo always seems to play worse in Grand Slams. He has won four titles that are not Grand Slams, he has yet to get past the third round at any tournament other than Wimbledon, where he got to the QF.

In the US and the Australian Open, he has got to the third round. In the French, he has only gotten to he second round. He has won two matches at the French, ever.

You could probably understand why Ivo plays a lot better on grass, but shouldn't he be better than he is on hard. The ball travels faster in the US Open than at Wimbledon, so he should play better there, since it's to his advantage.

I can understand why he isn't good on clay-courts. It is because the balls travels slowly and it gives more time to return a serve. But, he did set his career high for aces on clay, so he should be able to get to the third round, right?

Ivo can become a great player, I think he has the potential. But, not until he takes the time to work on the rest of his game. With a serve so powerful, it should not be very hard to develop a forehand and a backhand, and start to win some more tournaments.

Good Luck Dr. Ivo!

Thanks for reading, feel free to comment!