Karlovic serves 12,000th ace but Muller wins landmark battle

Croatia's 38-year-old Karlovic became the first man to ever pass the milestone of 12,000 aces as he blasted down another 19 yet he still could not stop his 34-year-old opponent coming out on top 7-6(5) 7-6(4) in the Wimbledon warm-up tournament.

Karlovic serves 12,000th ace but Muller wins landmark battle

(Reuters)





With a combined age of 72, it was the oldest singles final on the ATP World Tour since Hong Kong in 1976 when 42-year-old Ken Rosewall defeated 30-year-old Ilie Nastase.

Earlier, Estonia's Anett Kontaveit, one of the rising talents of the WTA tour, won her first tour title in the women's final, beating Russian Natalia Vikhlyantseva 6-2 6-3.

Muller, Luxembourg's best-ever player, has enjoyed a remarkable season, winning his second title of the year here after previously never having managed to earn one in 13 years of trying.

The left-hander even blasted 22 aces to outperform Karlovic, the most prolific purveyor of aces the game has ever seen, winning two tiebreaks after neither man had enjoyed even the sniff of a break point in the one hour 35 minute contest.

The 21-year-old Kontaveit, who had already reached one WTA final and beaten world number one Angelique Kerber this season, overcame a dip in concentration at the start of the second set to earn her victory in just under an hour and a quarter.

The 20-year-old Vikhlyantseva, another promising talent, was outplayed in the opening set but after breaking to take a 3-1 lead in the second, Kontaveit moved into overdrive to halt the comeback swiftly and win the next five games.

The victory will shoot the young prospect from Tallinn from world number 49 to a new career-high of 36 when the rankings are announced on Monday.





(Reporting by Ian Chadband; Editing by Toby Davis)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world