Ivo Karlovic Hits 75 Aces, Sets Match Duration Record At Australian Open

As Ivo Karlovic and Horatio Zeballos battled it out in the fifth set at the Australian Open on Tuesday night, fans rushed over to Court 19 to observe as a record unfolded.

Ivo Karlovic Hits 75 Aces, Sets Match Duration Record At Australian Open

The stands completely full, some spectators stood on tables and chairs and even balanced on the fence of an adjacent court to try to catch a view. Many began recording the match.

After five hours and 15 minutes, Zabello cracked in the 84th game. Chasing down a lob on Karlovic’s second match point, the 31-year-old Argentine mis-hit a forehand and the ball soared long, giving Karlovic a thrilling, come-from-behind first-round victory, 6-7 (6), 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 22-20.

The Croatian Karlovic, who will be 38 next month, was sore but ecstatic about his victory.

“Arm is good,” he said, noting the frequency of ace. “But my knee, my back, little bit not so good.”

The final set alone lasted two hours, 37 minutes. Although most points were short, the match was a very entertaining one with great performances from both players. The pair combined for 237 winners to 94 unforced errors.

“This is what I will, after my career, remember,” Karlovic, who is ranked 20th, said. “If it was easy match or I lost easy, I wouldn’t remember. But this one, definitely, I will remember forever.”

The match didn’t, nevertheless, match the length of that played between John Isner and Nicholas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010, which Isner ultimately won 70-68 in the fifth set after more than 11 hours.

Karlovic joked afterwards that he was thinking about this match, and that he wished his match against Zeballos would have gone longer so that he would have broken the record.

The match also fell short of the 5-hour, 53-minute Australian Open final played by Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in 2012, the longest in terms of time at that tournament.

Karlovic and Zeballos did set a few other big records, however.

Their total of 84 games broke the previous Australian Open record of 83 set by Andy Roddick and Younes El Aynaoui in 2003, a match Roddick won 21-19 in the fifth. Karlovic’s 75 aces also shattered the previous record of 51 for a single match, set by Joachim Johansson against Andre Agassi in 2005.

After Zeballos’ last shot flew long, Karlovic threw his arms in the air and his fans jumped to their feet, chanting “Ivo, Ivo!”

Then, he began to think about recovery ahead of his next match against 23-year-old Australian wild-card qualifier Andrew Whittington.

“I will have two days now,” he said. “I’m just going to do the ice bath, try to hit good, go to sleep early. Hopefully that will be enough.”

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 17: Ivo Karlovic of Croatia plays a backhand in his first round match against Horacio Zeballos of Argentina on day two of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 17, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. Karlovic and Horacio Zeballos produced the longest match in Australian Open history before the Croatian finally triumphed 6-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 22-20. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)