Ivo Karlovic triumphs in record 84-game marathon

pulse

January 17, 2017 12:03 PM

The Croatian serving specialist yelled in delight and pranced around the court as he finally sealed victory after five hours.

Ivo Karlovic celebrates after victory against Horacio Zeballos during their Australian Open men's singles match on January 17, 2017

Ivo Karlovic smashed a jaw-dropping 75 aces as he beat Horacio Zeballos in a record 84-game marathon which stretched more than five hours at the Australian Open on Tuesday.

The Croatian serving specialist yelled in delight and pranced around the court as he finally sealed victory 6-7 (6/8), 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 22-20 on an outer court at Melbourne Park.

The match beat the Australian Open's previous tiebreak-era record of 83 games, set in Andy Roddick's defeat of Younes El Aynaoui in 2003.

At five hours 15 minutes, it was one of the longest matches in the tournament's history, although still short of the five hours, 53 minutes set in the 2012 men's final.

The denouement, when it finally came, was almost comical as an exhausted Karlovic chipped a hopeful lob over Zeballos, only for the Argentine to send a wayward forehand rocketing out of the court.

The 6ft 11ins (2.11m) Karlovic already holds the record for aces on tour after surpassing Goran Ivanisevic's career total of 10,237 in 2015.

Tuesday's first-round match carried echoes of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut's epic encounter at 2010 Wimbledon, the longest match in tennis history.

After 11 hours, five minutes of play that stretched over three days, and a total of 183 games, Isner triumphed 70-68 in the final set.

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