At 2.08m, it's impossible to describe Ivo Karlovic as a hidden danger, but Wimbledon hopefuls would be foolish to ignore the menace posed by the giant Croatian.
Four years after his historic first round upset of defending champion Lleyton Hewitt, the 28-year-old Karlovic is again poised to unleash his deadly service game on the surface most receptive to its venom.
"Wimbledon is my favorite tournament because of my serve and also because when I was young I was always watching Wimbledon and it was my dream to become a tennis player. It was a great inspiration," said Karlovic, the tallest player ever to feature in the professional game.
Karlovic was an unknown qualifier and ranked 203 in the world when he beat Hewitt 1-6, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Wimbledon in 2003.
The result meant the fiery Australian became the first defending Wimbledon men's champion since tennis turned professional in 1968 to lose in the first round.
But it's not just his height that makes Karlovic distinctive.
He is one of the sport's big serve kings.
Before this week's Wimbledon tune-up in Nottingham, he had fired down 461 aces in just 24 matches this year, second only to compatriot Ivan Ljubicic's 516 which came from 14 matches more.
Karlovic holds the record for hitting the most aces in a match, a mark he achieved when he sent down 51 in a five-set defeat in a first round at Wimbledon in 2005 against Daniele Bracciali.
For good measure, he also tops the chart in service games won this year on 92 percent.
This year has has seen him capture his first ATP title, in Houston, ironically on clay, the slowest surface in the sport and he's fighting fit after a knee injury played havoc with his schedule over the last six months of last year.
Andre Agassi believes Karlovic is one of the game's trickiest players.
"You just don't expect somebody to be able to cover that much ground by just sticking out their racquet," he said. "You have to concentrate point after point. You never know when the match is decided against a player like that."
Karlovic has also won widespread praise for the way he has dealt with the international media, speaking in English despite suffering from a pronounced stammer.
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