A single moment put in a nutshell the proceedings of Somdev Devvarman’s match against the ATP tour’s resident giant, 6’10” Ivo Karlovic. The Croatian mishit a ferocious first serve early on, and though it meant a chance for the Indian to attack the second, the ball which clipped the net at such lightning speed that a dent was left behind on the tape must surely have given Devvarman a brief glimpse of the considerable challenge that lay ahead.

In Thursday’s third-round meeting at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a rematch of the 2009 Chennai Open quarter-final, victory eluded the Indian as the aces flew all around him in Karlovic’s 7-5 6-1 win.

“You can’t counter his serve, it’s that big. All you can do is get it back into play and try to control the point from then on. His serve is his biggest weapon, and today it was on,” said Devvarman, who had to endure 14 untouchable serves whizzing past him through the match. He tried to throw in a couple of his own, but never came even close to breaking his opponent’s serve.

Serve barrier

“I couldn’t do much on his second serve either. I had him down to 15-30 a couple of times but he came up with aces right there. He comes in at the net too, and it’s tough to pass such a tall frame. He played very aggressive and went for his shots. I should have stayed more solid on my service games,” said the Indian.

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