Wimbledon began with an upset unprecedented in the Open era Monday when defending champion Lleyton Hewitt lost to 2.08m qualifier Ivo Karlovic of Croatia.
Karlovic, the tallest player in tournament history, dominated with his serve and beat Hewitt 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4.
Since the first Wimbledon in 1877, the only other defending men's champion to lose in the opening round was Spain's Manuel Santana, who fell to Charlie Pasarell in 1967. That match, which also marked the only other defeat of a top-seeded man in the opening round, took place one year before the Open era began.
Karlovic, 24, was playing his first Grand Slam match and his seventh at the tour level, but he proved an imposing opponent for the 1.80m Hewitt.
"It's tough," said Andy Roddick, whose path to the semifinals became easier with Hewitt's loss. "The guy looked like he was serving out of a tree against Lleyton."
The upset came on the sport's grandest stage. In keeping with tradition, the defending champion played the first match of the tournament on Centre Court, so that's where Karlovic made his Wimbledon debut.
"I'd never seen him play," Hewitt said. "I'd seen him walk around a bit before."
The Croat looked nervous at the start but poised at the finish. He served out the final game at love, hitting a 119 mph second serve for a winner on match point. He raised his long arms and threw a fist, and that was the extent of his celebration.
Hewitt's loss was in sharp contrast to his girlfriend's first-round result. French Open runner-up Kim Clijsters beat Paraguay's Rossana Neffa-De Los Rios 6-0, 6-0 in 31 minutes.
Other winners in women's play included 2000 and 2001 champion Venus Williams, 1999 champ Lindsay Davenport and No. 7-seeded Chanda Rubin.
Roddick, seeded fifth, hit 14 aces and 21 service winners to beat Davide Sanguinetti 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. He advanced to a showdown of big serves in the second round against Britain's Greg Rusedski, who hit 31 aces to beat Germany Alexander Waske 7-6 (6), 7-5, 7-6 (7).
Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten won when John Van Lottum quit with a back injury leading 6-2, 2-3. Kuerten's next opponent will be Todd Martin, who improved to 21-13 in five-set matches by beating Fernando Vicente 6-7 (4), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4.
No. 4 Roger Federer, No. 9 Rainer Schuettler, No. 12 Paradorn Srichaphan and No. 16 Mikhail Youzhny also advanced. American Mardy Fish beat No. 29 Gaston Gaudio 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Also eliminated were No. 31 Vince Spadea, No. 33 Nikolay Davydenko and American Taylor Dent, who lost to Ivan Ljubicic.
On a sunny, mild afternoon, Hewitt and Karlovic walked onto the immaculate Centre Court lawn side by side but hardly shoulder to shoulder, since the Croat is 28m taller. There were no bows to the Royal Box, a tradition eliminated this year.
The match began as expected. A shaky Karlovic double-faulted twice to lose the first game, then double-faulted twice more in his next service game to fall behind 3-0. He dropped the first set in 19 minutes.
The momentum turned when Karlovic hit two big serves and a forehand winner to take the final three points of the second-set tiebreaker. When he reached break point for the first time, Hewitt double-faulted to fall behind 3-1 in the third set, and soon the fiery Australian was on the ropes.
"He got better and better as the match went on," Hewitt said. "He got more and more confident, and he started serving a whole heap better."
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