Top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts after his loss to big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic in the quarter-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex yesterday. Karlovic won 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-4. Pictures: Jayan Orma
By Joe Koraith/Doha
After causing the biggest upset of the Qatar Exxonmobil Open, taking out top seed Novak Djokovic yesterday, seventh seed Ivo Karlovic said: "In the end I was a little bit luckier than him." But Karlovic's 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-4 defeat of Djokovic was not quite about luck. It was just that Croatian Karlovic was being modest.
Karlovic had a first serve percentage of 73 per cent in the match. And in the third set, when it mattered the most, that went up to 85 per cent.
When he was serving for the match in the tenth game, this is how Karlovic performed under pressure. Ace. Ace. Ace. 40-0 in a blink. And the last serve was a sliced one! Djokovic was able to return the next serve but during the rally his shot hit the net cord, bounced over and fell right in front of Karlovic who was at the net.
The Croat slapped a cross-court volley to take out the tournament's top seed.
"I can't say if it was surprising or not, but he served very well. I was coming into the match knowing that I will have very, very few chances. But I was hoping that these conditions and the wind will give me some second serve opportunities, but that didn't happen," said Djokovic with a smile after the match.
It was a windy day in Doha yesterday and both players were on level terms in the first set, right up to the tie-breaker. With the tie-break score at 2-3 in favour of Djokovic, Karlovic played an extremely casual shot—a cross between a lob and a volley—which ended up going wide and giving Djokovic a mini break. Then Djokovic came into his own, first with an excellent double-handed, cross-court backhand to break Karlovic again. And then another down-the-line backhand, mis-hit by Karlovic, gave Djokovic the first set.
The second saw a bit of action in the seventh game when Karlovic was 0-40 down. But the Croat was able to dig his out and take the set to a tie-breaker eventually. In the tie-breaker the scores were tied till 4-4. After that the players exchanged a couple of breaks to take the score to 6-6. Then Karlovic sent down an ace to take the advantage. Djokovic hit wide, while attempting to pass Karlovic at the net and that gave the Croat the second set.
The third set was following a similar pattern with both players winning their service games till the sixth. In the seventh game, Karlovic got his first break point of the match. Djokovic saved that but then Karlovic got a second break point and converted that to break the top seed.
He then won the next game 3-5. Djokovic won the next game but Karlovic, who crossed the 9000-ace barrier earlier this week, sent in three more to take the advantage and claim one of the biggest victories of his career. Djokovic also lost in the doubles match which he played immediately after his loss to Karlovic. Only goes to prove the fitness of these players.
The doubles match was the highlight of the evening because on the other side of the court was Rafael Nadal. Nadal, pairing with Argentina's Juan Monaco, defeated the Serbian pairing of Djokovic and Filip Krajinovic 7-6(3), 6-1. This means that Djokovic bids adieu to Doha and will get a few days extra in Melbourne to tune up for the Australian Open, the year's first Grand Slam.
This is now the ninth time in a row that Djokovic's attempt to start the year on a winning note has failed yet again. But the World No 1 was happy with the experience he had in Doha—in terms of matches and the hospitality he received here.
"I had plenty of matches, singles and doubles, I think six in total, so I think it's good. You know, obviously I wish I could have gone further, at least in singles, but that's the way it is. But it was a good week. I want to thank the organisers of the tournament and everybody for welcoming me, my team, my family. It was a really enjoyable experience," he said.
Apart from Djokovic's upset, the remaining seeds had easy outings. In the first match of the day, fourth seed David Ferrer defeated Dustin Brown in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. Ferrer's win will see him face Karlovic in today's semi-final.
And later in the day, third seed Tomas Berdych demolished sixth seed Richard Gasquet 6-1, 6-2. Berdych will face either Andreas Seppi or Ivan Dodig who were playing in the late match of the day.
Results (Quarter-finals)
3-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat 6-Richard Gasquet (France) 6-2, 6-1; 7-Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) beat 1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-4; 4-David Ferrer (Spain) beat Dustin Brown (Germany) 6-2, 6-2
Semi-final Lineup
7-Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) vs 4-David Ferrer (Spain); 3-Tomas Berdych (Czech) vs Andreas Seppi (Italy)/Ivan Dodig (Croatia)
BELOW:
1) Spain's David Ferrer celebrates his 6-2, 6-2 win over Dustin Brown of Germany.
2) Ivo Karlovic celebrates his stunning upset of Djokovic at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open yesterday.
