WWW AO 3R: [24]Ljubicic vs. Karlovic

Who will win this all-Croatian match?

A match between 2 ball machines would be more aesthetically pleasing, adrenaline pumping and exciting than one between these two all serve mugs.

what an unbelievable match-up!

A match between 2 ball machines would be more aesthetically pleasing, adrenaline pumping and exciting than one between these two all serve mugs.

If you want to get your adrenaline going, try putting some money on one or the other. It makes a big difference!:)

In all the years, they played only once, with Ivo triumphing 2:1 on grass. I think Ljubo will edge him here.

Karlo is playing really good tennis, besides the serving, lately, so I'll fancy him to win this.

could go either way, strangely I really want to see this match

I think Karlovic will win it, simply because both players sometimes throw brainless serving games, giving breaks with mistakes. However, Karlovic has the better serve and should hold serve more often (also big servers hate to play big servers most of the time so neither will be pleased with the matchup).

Dr. Ivo in 4

hope tennis wins

i like ivo in this one, even though i would prefer ivan to win

In all the years, they played only once, with Ivo triumphing 2:1 on grass. I think Ljubo will edge him here.

weird match that was. Ljubo with 0 aces in a 3 setter on grass?

ivo will prolly win this.

Ivan can do it.

Ljubo for tennis.

I think Ivan...

Dr.Ivo will win

Ivo in 4.

Maybe boring, but still a great matchup :)

Karlovic wins 6-7(5) 7-6(6) 6-7(4) 7-6(11) 6-3
:cool:

Ljubicic for me. Confidence - huge

In a 3-4 TBs match, the smarter player with better overall tennis should win. Ljubo is smart and cunning, Ivo is the village idiot compared to him.

I don't like them both, but Ljubo is celebrating his draw already

Who cares?

Who cares?

*raises hand* ;)

Been quite impressed with Ivo recently. Karlovic in 4. Atleast 2 tiebreaks.

*raises hand* ;)

X


and btw i dont think there would be so many TBs.

I think Ivo is the small favorite, but I'd be happy with whoever wins :)

tennis ball machine wins

Ljubicic. One tiebreak at the most in this match.

I love the way Ivo has been playing lately so i give him the edge. Also, I think Ivo will have much better chances against Nadal than Ivan.

I. Karlovic

Best server on tour against one of the worst returner

Karlo in 4

Ivo Karlovic in 4 easy sets

quickie

Ljubicic for me. Confidence - huge

In a 3-4 TBs match, the smarter player with better overall tennis should win. Ljubo is smart and cunning, Ivo is the village idiot compared to him.

I don't like them both, but Ljubo is celebrating his draw already

Ljubo is scared like a little child mate..his pants are allready full and the match didnt started yet

he coludnt even beat Karlo on a training session:lol:

Also, I think Ivo will have much better chances against Nadal than Ivan.

I don't agree with you . For me Karlo is favorite against Ljubo but in possible match against Rafa Ljubo has better chances if you can call that a chance .

Irrelevant, Nadal will smoke either of them.



I don't agree with you . For me Karlo is favorite against Ljubo but in possible match against Rafa Ljubo has better chances if you can call that a chance .

Yup, Ljubo had some chances like 3-4 years ago, while he was a tad younger.

Legenda in 5

Ljubo is scared like a little child mate..his pants are allready full and the match didnt started yet

he coludnt even beat Karlo on a training session:lol:

yup, Ljubo already has a small brown map of Slovenia on his panties...Ivo in 4 :cool:

Ljubo is scared like a little child mate..his pants are allready full and the match didnt started yet

he coludnt even beat Karlo on a training session:lol:
maybe he's your buddy on facebook, but if it's not from there, i guess you're comforting urself with that statement, dunno..

You guys believe that Karlovic will move in 4th round of a GS?

This is ridiculous. He needs to become a tennis player first.

He almost lost to giant Benji Becker..i mean WTF? :rolleyes:

These two are uncomparable in a GS event. Especially on hard. Forget it. Ljubo to cruise in max 4 sets is my call.

Almost lost to Becker?! Becker is Ivo's bitch, has been for years.

Ljubičić.

maybe he's your buddy on facebook, but if it's not from there, i guess you're comforting urself with that statement, dunno..

You guys believe that Karlovic will move in 4th round of a GS?

This is ridiculous. He needs to become a tennis player first.

He almost lost to giant Benji Becker..i mean WTF? :rolleyes:

These two are uncomparable in a GS event. Especially on hard. Forget it. Ljubo to cruise in max 4 sets is my call.

Its adorable how you are making fool of yourself, cuttie, with all these delusional "1000% sure win statements"...

1.Ivan has reached peak of his capabilities 4 years ago and stopped developing while enevitable aging and physical limitation are cathing him nowadays.
2.But for 2006 breakthough with AO and RG thriumphs, Ivans GS record is veritably abysmal for such a player and that says a lot about his mental state during big clashes.
3.On contrary to his more accomplished compatriot, Karlovic has been permanently progressing last years and commencing of this season has proved that this timber capable for some real feats at his 30es.
4. Have you actually seen his clashes vs. Becker, Davydenko(especially),Stepanek,Julien?
5.Last year Karlovic has managed to reach his 1st ever GS quarter final surpassing the likes of much more complete in any game department contenders than current Lujbicic (Tsonga,Verdasco).....

maybe he's your buddy on facebook, but if it's not from there, i guess you're comforting urself with that statement, dunno..

You guys believe that Karlovic will move in 4th round of a GS?

This is ridiculous. He needs to become a tennis player first.

He almost lost to giant Benji Becker..i mean WTF? :rolleyes:

These two are uncomparable in a GS event. Especially on hard. Forget it. Ljubo to cruise in max 4 sets is my call.

i thought i saw your post on another forum...can i quote you?

"The German can count on a solid serve and great hard courts baseline tennis"

:rolleyes::D

p.s.

I belive any Karlos match is 50-50 but not today.60-40 for Karlo is my estitamtion

good post superboy

Its adorable how you are making fool of yourself, cuttie, with all these delusional "1000% sure win statements"...

1.Ivan has reached peak of his capabilities 4 years ago and stopped developing while enevitable aging and physical limitation are cathing him nowadays.
2.But for 2006 breakthough with AO and RG thriumphs, Ivans GS record is veritably abysmal for such a player and that says a lot about his mental state during big clashes.
3.On contrary to his more accomplished compatriot, Karlovic has been permanently progressing last years and commencing of this season has proved that this timber capable for some real feats at his 30es.
4. Have you actually seen his clashes vs. Becker, Davydenko(especially),Stepanek,Julien?
5.Last year Karlovic has managed to reach his 1st ever GS quarter final surpassing the likes of much more complete in any game department contenders than current Lujbicic (Tsonga,Verdasco).....
I stopped readin after point 1

Ljubo is 10+ places ahead of Ivo in the rankings. Punto

i thought i saw your post on another forum...can i quote you?

"The German can count on a solid serve and great hard courts baseline tennis"

:rolleyes::D

p.s.

I belive any Karlos match is 50-50 but not today.60-40 for Karlo is my estitamtion
yeah, what about this quote?

p.s. do you have an idea why Ljubo from 2.20 nearly underdog is now favorite? Strange huh.....

pff:rolleyes:

i was just trying to make a joke latso...no hard feelings

its a line from your post on anotrher forum about the match Chela Becker;)

p.s.
prematch drifts means shit mate;)

http://www.ivo-karlovic.com/


just look at this pic of Karlo with his sunglasses

born to kill
ready to die
but never will

i was just trying to make a joke latso...no hard feelings

its a line from your post on anotrher forum about the match Chela Becker;)

p.s.
prematch drifts means shit mate;)
I know where the quote is from and being a won bet, i'm surprised u post is as a con

No hard feellings of course, just chit-chatting here, but overall, Pinna's drifts normally mean smth.

But even disregarding this, counting Karlovic as a fav against Ljubicic is not real for me.
You can't base Karlovic's victory over Benneteau as a base to compare.

Karlo played a good match against Stepanek (very expected, won my bet there as well). After the clay 6 sets battle in Davis cup, it was normal he'd have his shot.

But Becker being set and break up against him means a lot to me. Karlo turned it around, true. If Becker was able to win such matches, he'd be much higher in rankings, just to say that he is a classical mug and lost the match, not Ivo winning it (imho).

time will tell, but i've never been so happy in my life seing odds 2.10... :)

cheers ;)

weird match that was. Ljubo with 0 aces in a 3 setter on grass?

I was courtside for that match and remember it reasonably well. Ivan was non-existent in the first set. :o

As for today...honestly, I haven't a clue. Yes, Ivo has the stronger serve, but he has issues returning big serves, himself...and Ivan surely has better tiebreak statistics over at least the last year or so.

Best of luck to them both.

Why are you arguing as if it could be stated with reasonable confidence one way or the other :lol: Superboy, Karlo is not any younger than Ljubo. He doesn't have a better GS record overall, on the contrary. He has one QF and one 4th round IIRC, that's it. He's only ever been once in R3 at AO before. Ljubo has played QF.
Ljubo has been in good form for a alrge part of last year and seems in good form now. He has played an extremely close match with Tsonga here last year. Had Jo not been extremely clutch, it could have easily ended the other way. Alternatively, had he been that clutch in his match with Ivo, rather than utterly frustrated with lack of any real play on either his or Karlo's serve by that point, that one could have easily ended differently as well.

Bottom line is, it's largely a matter of speculation. Personally, I think Ivan in solid form will prevail due to being a smart player with considerably variety, which might not be decisive in best-of-three, but there's more room both for mistakes and strategy experiments in best-of-five. Also, given Karlo's return, his serve is basically as good as Ivo's and his second serve is miles ahead IMO, one of the best in the business. Any heat and wind would additionally work in his favor. :shrug:

Best server on tour against one of the worst returner

Ljubo in 4


you are right...Ivan is still one of the best servers on tour while Karlovacko is easily the worst returner in the top 500 :wavey:

Why are you arguing as if it could be stated with reasonable confidence one way or the other :lol: Superboy, Karlo is not any younger than Ljubo. He doesn't have a better GS record overall, on the contrary. He has one QF and one 4th round IIRC, that's it. He's only ever been once in R3 at AO before. Ljubo has played QF.
Ljubo has been in good form for a alrge part of last year and seems in good form now. He has played an extremely close match with Tsonga here last year. Had Jo not been extremely clutch, it could have easily ended the other way. Alternatively, had he been that clutch in his match with Ivo, rather than utterly frustrated with lack of any real play on either his or Karlo's serve by that point, that one could have easily ended differently as well.

Bottom line is, it's largely a matter of speculation. Personally, I think Ivan in solid form will prevail due to being a smart player with considerably variety, which might not be decisive in best-of-three, but there's more room both for mistakes and strategy experiments in best-of-five. Also, given Karlo's return, his serve is basically as good as Ivo's and his second serve is miles ahead IMO, one of the best in the business. Any heat and wind would additionally work in his favor. :shrug:

I am not arguing at all, chap. I am not stating that Karlo is a "sure winner". I am more than cognizant of ALL these two pros and cons. I claimed that Karlovic raised his level significantly at this part of his career when Ljubicic ,being overall much better contender, is definitely behind his glory although still capable for creating some substantional noise. Ivo is a distinguishing sample of a late bloomer and at a current moment his chances are worth being considered at these 1.9-2 prices.

And as for the odds drift...its more than obvious and habitual when biggest part of cappers society pushing the line in correspondence with hackneyed suggestions - "Ljubicic is better, Karlovic is pathetic all serve timber why the hack Ljubicic is a dog!!!" BUT such patterns do not work properly in modern tennis and bookmakers are not morons at all to set such odds, by the way.