Posted on 06/23/2003 8:03:56 PM PDT by Mister Magoo
Hewitt stunned by giant 6-10 Croatian, playing first Wimbledon, topples No. 1 seed
06/24/2003
By JULIET MACUR / The Dallas Morning News
WIMBLEDON, England – The giant who must duck through doorways stood on Wimbledon's hallowed Centre Court on Monday, wide-eyed and casting a long shadow.
In front of nearly 14,000 fans, with the tournament's defending champion glaring at him from the other side of the net, Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, who is 6-10, was terrified.
He hadn't played in a Grand Slam tournament before – in fact, he had played only 10 tour-level matches in his career – and there he was, a nervous virtual nobody, ranked 203rd in the world trying to beat Lleyton Hewitt, the world's No. 2.
To everyone's surprise, even his, the shy Karlovic ended up stealing the moment, his shotgun serves and wingspan of an albatross stirring up magic on the legendary lawn court. He won, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4, sending the top-seeded Hewitt home on the tournament's first day.
It was just the second time since Wimbledon began in 1877 that the defending champion lost in the first round. In 1967, Manuel Santana became the first champion to leave early when he lost to Charlie Pasarell.
"I was completely scared," Karlovic said in his heavy Croatian accent, a severe stuttering problem slowing his speech. But he pressed on, "But after I saw that I can beat him, I start to play better."
Hewitt, 5-11 and nearly a foot shorter than Karlovic, didn't expect a difficult afternoon. His first tough match was supposed to be in the quarterfinals against Andy Roddick. Now, after slinking off Centre Court where he was supposed to be the star, he said the loss wouldn't sink in for a few days.
"It's a very hard moment to try and say you're going to learn something from it, but hopefully I can," said Hewitt, 22. "At the moment, it's pretty disappointing."
Before Monday, Hewitt never saw Karlovic play, but he said he had "seen him walk around a bit before." Because Karlovic and Hewitt don't travel in the same circles. Nor do they live similar lives.
Karlovic had to win three matches just to qualify for Wimbledon's main draw. He had tried 10 previous times to qualify for a Grand Slam but failed.
His sneakers, compared to Hewitt's gleaming, new ones, are worn and scuffed. The 24-year-old Croat, from a middle-class family in Zagreb, didn't come to Wimbledon with a clothing sponsor. He got a one-day deal just for his Centre Court match.
At first, Hewitt anticipated a walk-through. He won the first set in 19 minutes, with Karlovic nervously double-faulting and moving stiffly, as if his joints were rusty. In the second set, Karlovic began to relax.
With each serve, he leaped high into the air, almost Jordan-esque, sending the ball screaming across the net. His fastest serve in the match was 135 mph.
"It's tough," said Roddick, who beat Davide Sanguinetti, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3, in the first round. "The guy looked like he was serving out of a tree."
With many points, Karlovic danced from the baseline to the net in seemingly one step, making it nearly impossible for Hewitt – a terminal baseliner – to sneak the ball past Karlovic's daddy-longlegs limbs.
Ivo Karlovic delivers a serve in his first-round upset of Lleyton Hewitt.
At the end of the second set, Karlovic won the final three points of a tiebreaker with a pair of searing serves and one sweetly placed forehand crosscourt winner. Then, in the third set, he came back from 15-40 in one service game and from 0-40 in another to win both.
The crowd cheered for each of Karlovic's successful shots, rooting for the underdog who relied on old-time serve-and-volley. But only after sending one of Hewitt's topspin lobs into the stands to win the match did Karlovic show emotion. He raised his hands in the air and gave a brief fist-pump.
In a small tournament two weeks ago, though, he was fiery like his mentor, 2001 Wimbledon champion and fellow Croat Goran Ivanisevic, whom Karlovic calls "a god."
Karlovic was fined $1,000 for throwing his racket, then $2,000 for verbal abuse when he complained about it. He ended up paying $500 in the end – because he won $2,500 in the tournament.
But mostly, Karlovic is quiet and reserved, even among friends. He has been soft-spoken and introverted since he was a kid, always self-conscious of his height.
At 12, he gave up basketball for tennis. But not because his parents had a preference. He said both of them aren't very athletic and are average height. He often wonders who in his family gave him his tall genes.
"I don't know who is tall," he said. "Postman, maybe."
E-mail jmacur@dallasnews.com
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