The Hindu : `He serves from a tree'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 22, 2004

Sport

Sport - Tennis

`He serves from a tree'

MELBOURNE, JAN. 21. Ask American veteran Todd Martin to pick the best serve he has faced and he is quick to answer — Croatia's Ivo Karlovic.

The 33-year-old Martin beat Karlovic in the second round, but was left shaking his head.

``It's the best. It's unbelievable, unbelievable,'' said Martin of Karlovic, a towering 6-foot, 10-inch (2.08-metre) right-hander from Zagreb, who is the tallest player to rank in the top 100 in the history of the ATP rankings.

``He's 6-10 and he serves from a tree,'' added Martin, who stands 6-foot, 6-inches (1.98-metres) and also packs a big serve.

``He serves hard, but he is so accurate it is astounding. He has one heck of a complete serve, first and second serve.''

Karlovic, ranked No. 72, averaged an ATP-best 17.6 aces per match during 2003. Against Martin on Wednesday, he hit 33 aces to 11 from the American.

Martin put Karlovic's serve ahead of such big-hitters as 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic and current players Wayne Arthurs, Greg Rusedski and Mark Philippoussis.

``I'd rather play Wayne Arthurs every day for the rest of my life than play this guy one more time,'' a smiling Martin said.

Agassi's regret

Andre Agassi says he should have spent more time in Australia in the first half of his career. ``I wish I'd played here every opportunity I had,'' Agassi, a four-time Australian champion, said after beating Tomas Berdych 6-0, 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday.

``Beyond the fact that this has turned out to be one of the greatest venues for my tennis and my career, I enjoy it here so much. I think I didn't play at the time for reasons that were questionable. You know, I was young, wanted time off. "

``I didn't have the same sort of respect for the traditions of the game as I probably wish I would have earlier. I did the same thing at Wimbledon, as well. Those are just times you can't get back.''

Agassi first played at the Australian Open in 1995 and won. He has added another three in Melbourne and is looking for a fifth this year. The American also did not play at Wimbledon for three years after a first-round debut loss in 1987. At his second start back there he won in 1992, and was runner-up in 1999.

Feeling right at home

Nicolas Escude has had his share of good times in Australia, so little wonder he feels at home here.

Escude had plenty to smile about again on Wednesday when he advanced to the third round.

It follows an injury-hit 2003, in which the French right-hander was forced to miss the last six months of the year with a hip problem.

``I enjoy the country, I enjoy the people here,'' Escude said. ``I have a good feeling and good memories in this stadium.''

Escude's first major impact at a Grand Slam tournament came at the 1998 Australian Open when he reached the semifinals. He also became the first player in the Open era to win three matches in a Grand Slam after dropping the first two sets. He also led France to victory over Australia in the 2001 Davis Cup final in Melbourne.

Power of marriage

Justine Henin-Hardenne knows what it takes to reach the top of the tennis mountain. The Belgian has defied the power of the big-hitters on the women's tour to take the No. 1 ranking.

On Wednesday, Henin-Hardenne said one of the ingredients that has helped with her confidence is getting married. She married Pierre-Yves Hardenne in November 2002.

``It helped me a lot, gave me a lot of confidence, a lot of security and I feel much better since I'm married,'' the 21-year-old Henin-Hardenne said after beating close friend Camille Pin of France.

She was asked if she had any advice for compatriot Kim Clijsters, who is engaged to Australian player Lleyton Hewitt.

``The thing for Kim and Lleyton is they can understand each other pretty well because they're doing the same thing,'' she said.

She said she and Pierre-Yves ``talk a lot'' but ``never on tennis.''

Lindsay Davenport, who married Jon Leach in April last year, said Clijsters was ``under the microscope'' more than she had been. Her advice was to ``have fun and enjoy'' being engaged.

On the mend

Mark Philippoussis' cousin, who had a heart attack during the Wimbledon finalist's first-round win at the Australian Open on Tuesday night, is recovering well in hospital, the player and his father Nick said in a statement. Philippoussis said after his win over Sweden's Thomas Johansson that it was fortunate a doctor was close by when his cousin, whom he identified only as David, suffered the attack.

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