Nice work Aussie, I'm proud Goliath qualifier slays Hewitt By Patrick Miles, Wimbledon June 24, 2003 LLEYTON HEWITT created Open-era history at the All England Club early today, by becoming the first defending champion to lose in the first round of his defence. Ivo Karlovic, a giant of a man, ranked 203rd in the world, will forever be remembered as the man to knock Hewitt of his perch. In his first match at a grand slam, the Croat qualifier won 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-4 to stun his opponent and observers. Hewitt was welcomed warmly by the opening Centre Court crowd, who were also in a state of high expectation over his opponent, the man they call the man-mountain. Would his physical presence match his impressive statistics: 2.08 metres tall and 98kg on the scales? The answer was yes. Any gasps that might have greeted Karlovic's arrival were covered by applause for the players. He towered over Hewitt as they walked side by side to their chairs. This was David and Goliath, Jackie Chan versus Lennox Lewis, except that, unfortunately for the Croat, it was not a fight. In the beginning, he was completely outclassed by the top seed, who set upon every feeble attempt at a drop shot and every unconvincing second serve. The last time Hewitt had stood on this green patch of aristocratic England was 13 days less than a year ago, when he held aloft the men's singles trophy after defeating Argentina's David Nalbandian in straight sets. He picked up where he left off in last year's final, breaking 24-year-old Karlovic three times in the first set to finish it in 19 minutes. On all three occasions, it was a double-fault that sealed the break for the 22-year-old South Australian. Karlovic, whose past experience on the ATP Tour this season amounted to two matches at Queen's, began to find his range on the serve in the second set but the gulf in ability was still apparent. Hewitt has won 19 titles in his career to date while Karlovic, a member of Croatia's Davis Cup team, has won two matches on the main tour. In the second-set tiebreak, Karlovic took an early advantage but Hewitt retrieved the mini-break. Serving at 5-6, however, he gave Karlovic an easy cross-court winner and, in a split second, the match was level. As Hewitt committed more unforced errors, Karlovic raised his tempo and broke for a 3-1 lead in the third set. Again, the break was achieved on a double-fault, this time by Hewitt. At 2-5, Hewitt was forced to save a set point, then clung on with a service winner. In the next game, Karlovic stepped up to serve for the set and stunned the world No.2 by holding to love with an ace. The unknown Croat had turned the match on its head and now it was Hewitt who was struggling to make an impact. At 4-4 in the fourth set, Karlovic broke serve when Hewitt planted a backhand over the baseline, which enabled the Croat to serve out the match with a love game.
It sucks for the aussie fans, but I have to say I'm not unhappy about it. Hewitt's an easy player to dislike, so I was pleasantly surprised to see him go down early.
i didn't see the first set, only the last 3. the guy didn't even have to struggle. very cool and calm. watching him in the last set, i dont think anyone can beat his serve and volley. and pretty fast and good reflexes. jvg should trade eddie griffin for this 6'10 tennis player.
