The tiebreaker was a heartbreaker for Ivo Karlovic.
The towering Croatian tied his own tournament record blasting 35 aces today against Stan Wawrinka only to double fault off the tape on match point.
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Wawrinka watched as Karlovic's second serve struck the tape and sputtered beyond the service line. The big man's seventh double fault of the day ended Wawrinka's 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) victory that sent the fifth-seeded Swiss into the Cincinnati quarterfinals where he will play world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in a rematch of the French Open final.
Despite the defeat, the 36-year-old Karlovic is projected to return to the Top 20 when the new rankings are released on Monday, which will make him the oldest man to reach the Top 20 since a 37-year-old Jimmy Connors in February of 1990.
It was the ninth all-tiebreak match on the ATP Tour this season and fifth that did not feature a single break.
Karlovic's 35 aces equal the tournament mark he set twice previously—in the 2004 first round against Wesley Moodie and again in the first round this week versus Gilles Simon.
Ivo pulled out just about everything on serve, including a banana.
Just how big was Dr. Ivo was bombing his serve this week?
Despite the fact he played only three matches this week, Karlovic's 84 total aces ranks among the Top 5 for aces in a single year at the Western & Southern Open. Karlovic (2008) and Mardy Fish (2010) share the tournament record with 87 aces, followed by Andy Roddick, who hit 86 aces in 2004 and 85 aces in 2006.
Photo credit: Western & Southern Open