I think your jumping the gun. He is a good player and yes he can beat almost any player but a fair set from most top 50 players will be a TB at least and Karlovic does have a winning record in those lately but only by a little. I think there is too big a chance for him to lose to average players for him to be reaching GS semi's but I would like to see it.
The potential of Ivo Karlovic?
Ivo Karlovic is getting to unknown territory right now when he is playing tennis good enought to break the serve of good players like Haas and Safin atleast once every set and the scary thing is that the serve is just getting better and better, he has hold his serve 94% which is almost 19 of 20 serve games, last year he only won 90%. His slice is good enought to defend himself from the backhand side and his forehand is a great aggresive shot which can cause trouble to most players, he also has good touch at the net and his weakness is ofcourse his movement which will always be the negative aspect of beeng that tall. Anyway, before players just had to turn down the ues against Karlovic and wait for him to make ues, now they have to move him around and take risks.
Karlovic will now not have to qualify for master series and be seeded in grand slams. He will soon enought probably be seeded in master series too so I can see him really making an impact from now on in the big tournaments, Karlovic is a player who can lose to almost anyone and defeat almost anyone too, so it will be a big advantage for him not to be struggling in 3 tiebreaks in qualifying matches against lower ranked players.
Karlovic has the potential to be top 10 in my eyes, right now he is 90 atp race points away from achieving this, I see him in atleast a QF in Madrid and he will prob have a good run in Paris indoors too. IF he can keep his form to next year and Australia I can see him breaking in to the top 10 very soon. The question is if his physic can take 5 set matches in grand slams and if he can get to lets say a grand slam semifinal? How far do you think he can go? Can he make a GS semifinal?
Karlovic will now not have to qualify for master series and be seeded in grand slams. He will soon enought probably be seeded in master series too so I can see him really making an impact from now on in the big tournaments, Karlovic is a player who can lose to almost anyone and defeat almost anyone too, so it will be a big advantage for him not to be struggling in 3 tiebreaks in qualifying matches against lower ranked players.
Karlovic has the potential to be top 10 in my eyes, right now he is 90 atp race points away from achieving this, I see him in atleast a QF in Madrid and he will prob have a good run in Paris indoors too. IF he can keep his form to next year and Australia I can see him breaking in to the top 10 very soon. The question is if his physic can take 5 set matches in grand slams and if he can get to lets say a grand slam semifinal? How far do you think he can go? Can he make a GS semifinal?
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karlovic bh slices at FO reminded me of gonzo's bh slices. (but they are still work in progress.) Yes his forehand is good weapon. Volleying is very good.
if he manages to make the bh consitent the opponents will stop attacking his bh.
if he manages to keep up his fitness and improve his GS record and he is a top ten potential.
if he manages to make the bh consitent the opponents will stop attacking his bh.
if he manages to keep up his fitness and improve his GS record and he is a top ten potential.
I'm a fan of Ivo, but I can't see him going much higher than he is now. As has already been mentioned in other related threads, he is likely to have to play all 9 TMS next year, meaning that he will lose a number of points already gained in extra optionals. Sure, he will be a huge threat in any big event, but, with the quality of the fields being so much better than in smaller events, it is likely that he'll struggle to make the same impact.
I'd say his ceiling is top 25, with a possible appearance just inside the top 20.
I'd say his ceiling is top 25, with a possible appearance just inside the top 20.
He currently has terrible results in AMS and Slanm events. Bring those up to average (a few 3rd rounds at slams and the odd QF at AMS events) and he is top 20 comfortably.I'm a fan of Ivo, but I can't see him going much higher than he is now. As has already been mentioned in other related threads, he is likely to have to play all 9 TMS next year, meaning that he will lose a number of points already gained in extra optionals. Sure, he will be a huge threat in any big event, but, with the quality of the fields being so much better than in smaller events, it is likely that he'll struggle to make the same impact.
I'd say his ceiling is top 25, with a possible appearance just inside the top 20.
I would be careful to assume too much from Karlovic's recent performances. Whilst post-US Open he has been very impressive, he was only a few points away from losses to Stadler in Bangkok, Lee and Hewitt in Tokyo and Clement and Massu in Stockholm: a QF, SF and win is impressive; a first round loss and two second round losses would be considerably less so. He has made significant improvements from the back, but he is still much worse from the back than your average top 50 player.
The automatic entry and seeding will be bonuses, but its hardly like he has had del-Potro luck with the draws at the big tournaments. In terms of Grand Slam progress, sure he's looking more capable of making a run, but he only won one match at them this year so I can't see that sort of turnaround happening in one year. Problem for Karlovic is he is very unlikely to get past good returners over five sets in which they should get more of a read on his serve, and therefore chances to break.
The automatic entry and seeding will be bonuses, but its hardly like he has had del-Potro luck with the draws at the big tournaments. In terms of Grand Slam progress, sure he's looking more capable of making a run, but he only won one match at them this year so I can't see that sort of turnaround happening in one year. Problem for Karlovic is he is very unlikely to get past good returners over five sets in which they should get more of a read on his serve, and therefore chances to break.
agreed with that.He currently has terrible results in AMS and Slanm events. Bring those up to average (a few 3rd rounds at slams and the odd QF at AMS events) and he is top 20 comfortably.
top 20 yes, top 10 no
i hope he improves his endurance and wins some 5 sets matches
i hope he improves his endurance and wins some 5 sets matches
his draws weren't as nasty as del potro's but they were some pretty bad match-ups for Ivo all the same. melzer dominates the head to head while clement and santoro are 2 of the best returners of big serves around. he also got melzer again in cinci and fed in canada...The automatic entry and seeding will be bonuses, but its hardly like he has had del-Potro luck with the draws at the big tournaments. In terms of Grand Slam progress, sure he's looking more capable of making a run, but he only won one match at them this year so I can't see that sort of turnaround happening in one year.
His draws weren't especially kind, but I was pointing out this wasn't down to drawing seeds all the time so Karlovic being seeded himself isn't going to stop him playing against the likes of Clement, Melzer, Bjorkman. He has tended to lose early in the Master Series because of the higher calibre of the field rather than being dealt especially nasty draws.his draws weren't as nasty as del potro's but they were some pretty bad match-ups for Ivo all the same. melzer dominates the head to head while clement and santoro are 2 of the best returners of big serves around. he also got melzer again in cinci and fed in canada...
If Ivo could hang around the top 20-25 that would be outstanding. With the current talent on tour it's hard to imagine top 10, but he's surprised me immensely this year by reaching top 25, so ... He has played SO consistently all year. Only a couple of bad losses to Querrey and Fish. All the other losses are pretty understandable. He IS capable of making impact in Grand Slams. Three or four years ago he had good runs at Wimbledon and US Open, and his game is much much better now than it was back then. I think these past two really weak Grand Slams years are the anomoly not the the rule. I do think he'll break top 20 soon though.
Few good Slam performances and he's in the top 10 
Not a Top 10 levek, sorry
He sucked big time @ Wimbledon, having a potential QF chance and he blew it
He sucked big time @ Wimbledon, having a potential QF chance and he blew it
he needs to get a backhand drive first
He is max a top15 player but he should be able to better in the slams than he has. However, one can just look at his countryman Ljubicic to see that necessary game does not always translate to GS results
I know Ivo is being loved by many, but for me he's actually destroying tennis in general. Bam, bam and bam just isn't my kind of game.
It is somewhere between #15 and #30 in the rankings, the important thing for him is to stay healthy and improve his stamina so that he can post better results in the slams.
Ivo Karlovic is JUST a serve. If a player's mentality was solely to aim for Ivo's feet during every point during every match, Ivo wouldn't have won a single match throughout his career. His movement is absolutely terrible...apart from the excellent serve, he's just painfully wooden. Let's face it, if I was 6 foot 10, I think I'd have a good chance after 28 years of developing a serve like Ivo's. If you take away Ivo's serve, he wouldn't be in the world's top 1000. That is fact! In fact, without the serve, I don't think Ivo would have been a tennis player in the first place.
The past 3 matches Ivo's broken Haas 2 times, Thomas Johansson 3 times, and Safin 2 times. Obviously there's something more than serve. 7 breaks in 3 matches agains three very big servers. You obviously are basing your judgment on Ivo from 2 or 3 years ago. Watch him play sometime.Ivo Karlovic is JUST a serve. If a player's mentality was solely to aim for Ivo's feet during every point during every match, Ivo wouldn't have won a single match throughout his career. His movement is absolutely terrible...apart from the excellent serve, he's just painfully wooden. Let's face it, if I was 6 foot 10, I think I'd have a good chance after 28 years of developing a serve like Ivo's. If you take away Ivo's serve, he wouldn't be in the world's top 1000. That is fact! In fact, without the serve, I don't think Ivo would have been a tennis player in the first place.
Much of the time Ivo is behind the baseline so if a player would aim at his feet every point, they would have a shitload of errors and Ivo would have a lot more wins than he does now. Also this is one of the worst posts on MTF. You mention stuff that has been beaten to death on here and make little sense doing soIvo Karlovic is JUST a serve. If a player's mentality was solely to aim for Ivo's feet during every point during every match, Ivo wouldn't have won a single match throughout his career. His movement is absolutely terrible...apart from the excellent serve, he's just painfully wooden. Let's face it, if I was 6 foot 10, I think I'd have a good chance after 28 years of developing a serve like Ivo's. If you take away Ivo's serve, he wouldn't be in the world's top 1000. That is fact! In fact, without the serve, I don't think Ivo would have been a tennis player in the first place.
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