Unseeded Ivo Karlovic beat eighth seed Arnaud Clement 3-6 6-4 6-4 in the final of the Nottingham Open on Saturday to earn the second title of his career.
Karlovic won his first title on grass ahead of Wimbledon, which starts today. In April, the 29-year-old Croat won his first ATP tour title in Houston on clay.
"To tell the truth I didn't really expect to win," Karlovic said. "I came here to play a few matches, I was the last player in the draw."
PHOTO: AP
"I was injured last year for six months and I did not really have very good preparations for this year but so far it is my best year," he said.
Clement had played two matches on Friday -- defeating top-seeded Richard Gasquet, then Jonas Bjorkman -- on an indoor hardcourt because of rain.
His tiredness showed in the second set, when he saved three set points before Karlovic's passing shot forced a deciding set. Karlovic made the decisive break of serve in the 10th game of the final set.
One of Karlovic's 21 aces of the match was clocked at 246kph in the seventh game of the second set. That's only 3.2kph slower than the world record set by Andy Roddick in 2004.
Clement and Karlovic had met three times before, with the Frenchman victorious both times on grass -- in the quarter-finals at Queen's 10 days ago, and also in the first round at Den Bosch, Netherlands, in 2004.
Karlovic faces another Frenchman, Fabrice Santoro, in the first round at Wimbledon.
"I play Santoro in the first round, which is a difficult match for me because he plays similar to Arnaud ... But hopefully I'll go far," Karlovic said.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two