Wimbledon 2015: Top 5 Upsets in Men’s Draw

Jul 31, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Ivo Karlovic hits a forehand against Steve Johnson (not pictured) on day four of the Citi Open tennis tournament at the Fitzgerald Tennis Center. Johnson won 3-6, 7-6, 7-6. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Upset Number 3

Third Round

Ivo Karlovic [23] v Jo Wilfried Tsonga[13]

Jo Wilfried Tsonga’s impressive history on grass and Wimbledon especially made this an ominous looking match up for Ivo Karlovic. The imposing Croatian had emerged from an epic five setter in the previous round, but showed no ill effects in pushing Tsonga to his limits.

Karlovic, in the twilight of his career, has been serving better than ever in recent months. He carried this form into the third round tie, rarely giving Tsonga a sniff over the course of the match. The Frenchman had been in fine serving form himself and tie breaks were pretty inevitable.

The tie breaks were where Karlovic played the situations incredibly, taking risks that were paying off time after time. He knew he wouldn’t be the favourite in long rallies, so was taking hugs cuts at Tsonga’s first and second serve. Not renowned for his groundstrokes, Karlovic showed he is more than just a big serve.

The angles he was producing off the forehand wing, combined with the power he was generating, were causing Tsonga major problems. Despite being broken once in the second set, which ultimately cost him the set, Karlovic won tow tie breaks either side to head into a fourth set.

When he and Tsonga were faced with a third tie break in four sets, both new the importance of every single point. It went long, with both guys having chances. Tsonga had an opportunity to pass the Croatian on his own set point, with a controversial outcome keeping Karlovic alive in the set.

With a volley that looked like it could have been a double hit, Karlovic has to be applauded for such a clutch effort to even reach the shot. The umpire saw no wrong doing and Karlovic kept his focus to serve out the match on his own terms for one of the biggest wins of his career.

Score: 7-6(3) 4-6 7-6(2) 7-6(9)

Next: Bonus - Upset That Could Have Been