At his peak, the Ivo Karlovic fastest serve briefly held the world record for the fastest serve in professional tennis. His booming serves were his biggest weapon during a 24-year professional career, following which he recently adieu to the sport.
Karlovic’s height allowed him to relentlessly plunder thundering serves. He also held the record for most career aces with a whopping 13,728, until John Isner surpassed him.
With his big-serving prowess, Ivo Karlovic became one of his country’s top players. He represented Croatia in the 2011 Davis Cup where they faced Germany in Round 1 of the World Group. The two nations had split the singles ties one each when Karlovic and Ivan Dodig faced Christopher Kas and Philip Petzschner in the doubles match.
In the fourth set, Karlovic wrote his name into tennis history with a 156 mph (251 km/h) rocket. This broke a seven-year record for the fastest serve in tennis. However, his record stood only for about a year. Australian Sam Groth took over after firing a 163.4 mph (263 km/h) serve in the 2012 Busan Challenger. That record still stands today.
Regardless, Karlovic will go down as a memorable figure and one of the meanest servers in tennis. Here are some FAQs on the Ivo Karlovic fastest serve –
Ivo Karlovic fastest serve: Whose record did he break?
Before Karlovic’s brief stint, Andy Roddick held the record for the fastest tennis serve for seven years. The American star sent down a 155 mph (249.4 km/h) serve in the 2004 Davis Cup semi-final against Belarus.
When was Ivo Karlovic’s last match?
Despite announcing his retirement only now, Karlovic had not taken to the court for over two years. He last featured in the 2021 Indian Wells qualifying rounds as a 42-year-old.
How tall was Ivo Karlovic?
Standing 6 ft 11 in tall (211 cm), Karlovic is the tallest professional tennis player ever, alongside Reilly Opelka.
What nationality is Ivo Karlovic?
Karlovic is Croatian and was born in Zagreb. However, he resides in Miami, Florida, or the Bahamas.
What was Ivo Karlovic’s best ranking?
Karlovic achieved a career-high World No.14 rank in August 2008, on the back of a semi-final finish in the Cincinnati Masters that year.
How much prize money did Ivo Karlovic win?
With eight ATP Tour titles, he earned $10,160,232 in career prize money.
