Ivo Karlovic has a rather complicated relationship with Newport. The Croatian giant lost in the final in the last two years. In 2016, it seems that Ivo was doomed to face the same destiny as the previous two years, but eventually, he managed to win the final after saving three match points. The feat arrived after a dramatic tie-break in the deciding set. The final score was 6-7 (2) 7-6 (5) 7-6 (12). The last set recorded the longest deciding tiebreaker in the Open Era.
Match point for Ivo Karlovic at #ATPNewport. Outlasts Gilles Muller in third set tiebreaker, 14-12, captures title. pic.twitter.com/pVG2TT0Vdh
— Bill Koch (@BillKoch25) July 17, 2016
It’s awesome. KARLOVIC
Ivo was elated with his 7th title to comment “It’s awesome because when you lose like this in the last two years, you are down to match point, thoughts come into your head. It was that much nicer.”
Today I wasn’t lucky. MULLER
At 33, Gilles hasn’t managed to win a title after reaching five finals. “I don’t think I did that much wrong,” Muller commented. “I think Ivo played great on all the match points. He served great. I won a couple of matches in the last few weeks where I was the lucky one; I wasn’t the lucky one.”
3 hours on court. 3 match points saved. First #ATPNewport title on 3rd attempt. Time for some rest! Bravo Ivo!😎🎾ðŸ†ðŸ‘🻠pic.twitter.com/zNcb187FQz
— Tennis Hall of Fame (@TennisHalloFame) July 17, 2016
Victoryyyyyy!!!! Wohooooo!!! Idemooooo!!!! @TennisHalloFame @MizunoTennisEU @head_tennis @SlavenHrvoj @spajn
— ivo karlovic (@ivokarlovic) July 18, 2016
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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| THE DRAW |
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