Mana Games

[btaylor]

Hi Togt

In real life Ivo would CRUSH Sanguinetti, as he is nothing more than a journeyman player and one of the lowest of the Italian journeyman players!

[Togtdyalttai]

Hi Togt

In real life Ivo would CRUSH Sanguinetti, as he is nothing more than a journeyman player and one of the lowest of the Italian journeyman players!

Sanguinetti beat your Federer

[btaylor]

Ya can't win'em all!!
I suppose the Great Sanguinetti would've kept Fed from winning 15 majors, too!

[Togtdyalttai]

Videos from Valencia, CA:

[Togtdyalttai]

Videos from Valencia, CA (continued):

[kyuuji]

Any news for Ivo Karlovic Togt' ?

[Togtdyalttai]

Any news for Ivo Karlovic Togt' ?

I played through the next tournament (Cardiff), but I won't post the results until I go to school next. I do the match summaries on my laptop usually and I don't have that now. By the way, could you please call me Tog instead of Togt? Thank you.

[kyuuji]

No problem and thanks for answer

[Togtdyalttai]

Cardiff



Back to Europe, and back to the indoors for the first time in a challenger. This tournaments’ on indoor hard, and Ivo is surprisingly the #1 seed! He’s ranked 190, so I guess it’s somewhat understandable. But that mean’s the pressure’s on his shoulders and that he should win this tournament.

First up is a joke of a player, a wild card ranked worse than 500. Tom Rushby (GBR) has no stat better than 13. Do I hear a double bagel, anyone?

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. Tom Rushby (GBR) 6-1 6-3

Wow, I feel ashamed to have lost as many games as I did. This guy somehow managed to keep holding his serve and hitting winners despite the fact that he had nothing to work with.

Our next opponent should be at least a little bit more of a challenge. Thomas Schiessling (AUT) is a defender with groundies in the 50s and a serve built for accuracy. I don’t think this fast court will suit him very well though.

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. Thomas Schiessling (AUT) 6-3 6-4

Ivo had to work had to break Schiessling in both sets, but he was never troubled on his own serve, never even facing a break point. In the first, Ivo didn’t earn a break point of his own until 4-3, when he took it and ran straight into the next set. Then he had chances in the first game of the 2nd but couldn’t capitalize on them, but was able to two games later, and didn’t look back.

Lol, we’ve drawn Alex Bogdanovic in the quarters! This guy’s been stealing perfectly good wild cards into Wimbledon from the British LTA for a few years now and hasn’t ever done anything with them. He hasn’t even made it past the first round! He’s been a genuine failure, and even Brad Gilbert couldn’t prevent that. On here he’s a volleyer with every stat under 50 (though most are in the 40s), so he shouldn’t be too much trouble. The only reason why he could give Ivo problems is that he’s a lefty.

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. Alex Bogdanovic (GBR) 6-2 6-0

Bogdanovic had break points against Ivo in the first game of the match, but after that he had no chance. Ivo was on top of him in every aspect of the game. Ivo’s starting to play better as this tournament goes on, which can only be good.

Ah, Raemon Sluiter. This year he became the lowest ranked player ever to make an ATP final at ‘s-Hertogenbosch (wonderful tournament name, ain’t it?). He just came out of retirement this year after retiring last year. Who knows why; he’s never had much success. Sluiter’s a volleyer with stats very similar to Bogdanovic’s but a little bit better. Some of them are in the 50s instead of the 40s Shouldn’t be too difficult for Ivo.

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. Raemon Sluiter (NED) 6-7(6) 6-4 6-4

Ivo and Sluiter held serve easily throughout most of the first set, although Sluiter had a break point at 2-2 and Ivo had one at 6-5. Then in the tiebreak, Ivo went up early but gave the minibreak back with an easy missed volley. Then he double-faulted at 6-6 to give Sluiter a set point on his serve, which Sluiter accepted gladly to take the set. Ivo had more chances to break in the first game of the second set, but once again failed to convert. Then at 2-2, he finally broke through. Though he almost gave it right back, going down 15-40 in the next game, he was still able to hold 3 more times to even the match. The third set proved even tougher to get a break. There was absolutely no chance on either man’s serve until 3-3, when Ivo had a couple break points but didn’t get into either point. But at 4-4, the story changed, and he hit a return winner to break and easily serve the match out. Ivo finished the match with an astounding 38 aces. If it weren’t for those, he probably would’ve lost.

After two players that have had enough publicity for me to know who they are, the final brings us an opponent that I’ve never heard of, Mohcine Roudami (MAR). He’s a varied player with stats all over the board. His groundies have decent power (in the upper 50s) but not too good consistency (in the 30s). I think Ivo’s the better player here. Should be his first challenger title.

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. Mohcine Roudami (MAR) 6-1 6-2

Roudami never really had a chance, as Ivo pulled out to a 5-0 lead in the first set and never surrendered his serve, even though Rousami did have a couple of break points at 4-1 in the second. I thought this match would be a bit harder than it turned out to be, but I guess it shows that Ivo really deserved to be the number 1 seed in this tournament and that he’s ready to move up to the big leagues now.

[Togtdyalttai]

Videos from Cardiff:

[Togtdyalttai]

The final from Cardiff:

[Togtdyalttai]

Tunica Resorts

Ivo was offered a wild card into his first ATP event in Casablanca, but that one was on clay and we decided to instead take two weeks off and train some more. Ivo now has his serve at 80 power, 90 consistency, and 90 precision and we’ve finally put some points into net skills: 31 into net presence.

Tunica Resorts is on indoor carpet in this game, but in reality it was on indoor clay. Oh well, better for Ivo. We’re the #1 seed again and we’ve drawn an easy enough player in the first round. Diego Veronelli (ARG) is a defender with groundies in the 50s and good speed and stamina. Nothing about him should trouble Ivo.

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. Diego Veronelli (ARG) 6-3 7-6(3)

Ivo wasn’t able to do a ton on Veronelli’s serve. He had break points in two games each set but could only convert one of them. But on his own serve, Ivo is becoming more and more like the real man: he had 36 aces, and only lost two points in the same service game once. Just wait until grass season, folks, Ivo’s gonna make a splash onto the main tour.

Sebastian Salas (MEX)’s best shot is his serve, with its precision falling at 72. But other than that, most of his stats are in the 40s or thereabouts, so he shouldn’t be too much of a problem for Ivo.

Sebastian Salas (MEX) def. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 3-6 7-6(4) 7-6(3)

Ivo had this match in the bag in the 2nd. He broke Salas at 1-1 but then got broken back for the only time in the match. The third set had no break points for either player. So when both the 2nd and the 3rd went into tiebreaks, Ivo wasn’t able to do anything on Salas’s serve and was forced to hit a few too many second serves and couldn’t win those points. Just like the real Ivo. Even 48 aces couldn’t save the big man.

[Togtdyalttai]

Roland Garros

After a loss like that, something drastic must be done. To France! We’re going to try to qualify for Roland Garros in our first ATP tournament!

Strangely enough, Ivo is seeded 15th in the qualies. I don’t know if that means anything, but oh well. First up is Michael Ryderstedt (SWE), a lefty whose style is varied and whose stats are all around the 40s. He’s nothing special, so let’s see if Ivo can take him down.

Ivo Karlovic(15) (CRO) def. Michael Ryderstedt (SWE) 6-1 6-1

Ivo was able to get into every one of Ryderstedt’s service games, which was kind of surprising, but in a very good way. If he keeps playing like this, he should be able to make the main draw. After that, who knows.

Ivo’s gotten lucky in the 2nd round to draw a French Wild Card who’s simply awful. Arnaud Delgado is ranked 694 and his stats are all below 33. I’d love to see a double bagel from Ivo here.

Ivo Karlovic (15) (CRO) def. Arnaud Delgado (FRA) 6-0 6-0

Delgado had 0-40 on Ivo’s serve at 3-0 in the 2nd but other than that he had no chance. He simply didn’t have any skill.

Ivo’s last barrier to his first Grand Slam main draw is James Turner (GBR). He’s a counterpuncher with decent groundies (around 50) and good fitness and special skills (high 50s). Ivo’s still better than he is. Let’s see some best of 5 set action!

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. James Turner (GBR) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3

Turner proved to be a more worthy foe than expected. His speed let him get to a ton of balls, making Ivo work for his points and consequently causing more errors. Ivo got through the first set without trouble, needing only one break of serve. He went up 2-0 in the second but then got broken back to get to 2-2. After another break Ivo served for the match at 5-4. He got to 40-15, but then Turner started ripping passing shots, four in a row. He rode that momentum to his first easy hold of the set in the next game. Then in the tiebreak Ivo went up 3-0 but gave it back to Turner and eventually lost 7-5. The third set was a lot like the second. Ivo went up a break but got broken right back once again. Then he served for the match again at 5-3, and this time he was able to do so at love.

Well, Ivo’s due to receive an unfriendly welcome to the ATP Tour proper. In the first round of the French, he’s drawn the #8 player in the world, Thomas Enqvist. Enqvist is a varied player, and he’s good at many things in here. His groundies are in the 80s (backhand’s a little better) and his serve and special skills are as well. Even his net skills aren’t below 50. I don’t know if there’s any chance for Ivo here. He’ll have to play the match of his life, and even then he probably will still lose.

Ivo had a bit of a poor start, not winning a point on Enqvist’s first service game and going down break point on his own. But he saved that with an ace, got out of that game, and after a couple of routine holds brought him to a break point of his own at 2-2. On that point, Ivo was able to get to net and put away an easy smash for the break. Ivo went down 0-30 in the next game, but once again pulled out of the hole to hold. The rest of the set went by quickly with easy holds for each player, and surprisingly Ivo found himself ahead.

The second set started with two more routine service holds, but Ivo made his way to 0-30 at 1-1 with the help of a double-fault from Enqvist. Then Ivo made his first two winners from the back of the court off of passing shots to go ahead in the set. Two more easy holds were followed by Enqvist picking up his game and coming up with some beautiful passing shots to break back and level the set at 3-3. Each man held to get to 5-4 but then Ivo played a relatively poor game to gift Enqvist the set and level the match.

The start of the 3rd was a lot like the start of the 1st, but this time Enqvist was able to get the break in Ivo’s first service game. Enqvist kept going and going and broke Ivo again to eventually go up 5-0 and take the set 6-1.

At this point the Swede had all the momentum and Ivo’s chances looked especially bleak. But Ivo held and got to a break point, but Enqvist didn’t even give him a chance, serving a 224 kmh ace to save it. A letdown ensued, and Ivo was broken at love. He never really had much of a chance on Enqvist’s serve for the rest of the match, and so his first grand slam was over.

Thomas Enqvist (SWE) def. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 4-6 6-4 6-1 6-4

[ying-chang]

Personally I feel bad line calls had a negative impact on this match. It's too bad the challenge system hadn't been invented yet cause Ivo definitely got robbed.



Next time you'll get 'em.

[Togtdyalttai]

Wimbledon

I’m not too happy about this, but Ivo’s not going to miss Wimbledon. For some reason he wasn’t able to get into the qualies of Queen’s or Halle because he missed them. And if he entered a tournament the week before Wimbledon then he might go too far and not make the qualies of Wimbledon then and so the safest bet was to just play Wimbledon and forget about the other tournaments.

Ivo’s got Michael Tebbut (AUS), a volleyer with net skills around 60 and a good lob but not too much else. I’m interested to see how Ivo’ll do on grass and this should be a good indicator.

Ivo Karlovic (9) (CRO) def. Michael Tebbut (AUS) 6-3 6-3

Ivo didn’t play too well in this match, but it didn’t matter. His serve was a bit off, and so he finished with only 12 aces. But he only got broken once, and at a time when it didn’t matter, at 3-0 (2 breaks) up in the first set. And it wasn’t too difficult to block the ball past Tebbut, so Ivo made inroads in a lot of his service games.

Next up is Edouard Roger-Vasselin. H has his stats all at about the same level, in the high 30s. Should be another easy match for Ivo and another chance to get better before being truly challenged.

Ivo Karlovic (9) (CRO) def. Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 6-0 6-2

Ivo played a lot better in this one. He only lost a total of 5 points on serve, so that helped. Roger-Vasselin didn’t do anything well enough to hurt Ivo though.

Our last barrier to another grand slam main draw is Gilles Elseneer. He’s a volleyer with stats about the same as Roger-Vasselin’s, so once again Ivo should have it easy.

Ivo Karlovic (9) (CRO) def. Gilles Elseneer (BEL) 6-1 6-3

Ivo is looking pretty impressive, especially on serve. Elseneer could’ve easily been broken to give Ivo the second set at 6-1, but that didn’t happen. You can’t expect the big man to break every time. Hopefully he doesn’t draw such a high seed this time in the main draw.
Vladimir Voltchkov is about as good as Ivo can hope for in a grand slam draw. He’s a volleyer with most of his stats in the 60s. I think Ivo should get through this one, but it won’t be too easy.

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. Vladimir Voltchkov (BLR) 6-4 6-3 6-1

Ivo started out slowly, facing a break point in the very first game of the match. He saved that though, and became progressively better as the set went on. He did better and better on Voltchkov’s serve until at 4-4 he finally broke through. He had no trouble serving out the set.

Ivo got his break one game earlier in the second, and that gave him a chance in the next game to serve first in the third. It took him a couple tries, but he capitalized on that opportunity.

The third set wasn’t as close as the first two, as Ivo broke in Voltchkov’s second service game and didn’t look back. 37 aces definitely helped the matter along.

Next for Ivo is…Thomas Enqvist. No need to restate the stats, but Ivo should have a much better shot at this guy on grass. Payback time!

Thomas Enqvist (SWE) def. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-4 6-7(4) 6-3 7-6(3)

Ivo had a lot of chances in the first set. The action started at 1-2 on Ivo’s serve when he had 0-30 but easily got out of that hole. Then he kept going to get to 0-40 on Enqvist’s serve the next game but only got one serve back in play for the rest of the game. Then he had three more break points in the next game, but still couldn’t win a single one. Enqvist finally had an easier service game at 4-4, and then he started punishing Ivo’s serve all of a sudden to take the set.

The second set was one of very few chances. Ivo had the only small one at 4-4 when he was up 0-30 on Enqvist’s serve. But he couldn’t get any further, and so they went to a tiebreak. Ivo didn’t miss a single first serve in the tiebreak, and it only took one volley error from Enqvist to give the big man the nod.

In the third, Ivo didn’t play so well. He let Enqvist have the set essentially, with double-faults and errors. Enqvist broke at 3-3 after having break point in the previous game as well. Then Ivo had 15-40 in the next game, but Enqvist stepped up to hold. Ivo couldn’t even manage to make Enqvist serve for the set, and he dumped serve once again.

The fourth set had many chances for Enqvist to break, including one match point at 6-5, but Ivo was able to save them all, most with aces. In the tiebreak, Ivo was up a minibreak twice but gave them away with double faults and Enqvist was able to keep the lead once he got it.

This match may have been a closer one, but it was still a loss.