Record-setting Karlovic aces Berdych on German grass

Giant Croat Ivo Karlovic battered his way into the semi-finals of the ATP Halle tournament by smashing a record 45 aces past a bewildered Tomas Berdych en route to a 7-5, 6-7 (8/10), 6-3 victory on Friday.

"I’m extremely happy about the record," Karlovic said of his 45 aces, a new record in a best-of-three set match.

"Hitting aces helps a lot, you can avoid the volleys. I was surprised when I was told on court after the match how many aces I hit. I didn’t know it was that many. Hopefully I can continue like that in the semi-final."

The 36-year-old Karlovic, who stands 2.11m (6ft 11in) tall, won the match with the last of those aces and has 94 on the Halle grass courts from three rounds of tennis.

Another Croat, Goran Ivanisevic, holds the all-time overall record for aces with a total tally of 10,183, whilst Karlovic is second with 9,593.

In the semi-finals Karlovic, who beat Novak Djokovic in Doha this season, will play the winner of the quarter-final between Switzerland's Roger Federer and German Florian Mayer.

The right-hander from Zagreb won his sixth career tournament in February at Delray Beach, USA.
Source: AFP