Murray ready to dodge Karlovic 'bombs'
Murray ready to dodge Karlovic 'bombs'
Andy Murray will have to dodge "bombs" and watch a lot
of balls whistle past his ears when he comes face to face with the
tallest man in tennis in his second-round match at Wimbledon on
Thursday.
Man mountain Ivo Karlovic, who caused one of the
biggest Wimbledon upsets when he beat champion Lleyton Hewitt in the
first round in 2003, would like nothing better than to dash the hopes of
more than 60 million Britons by toppling Murray.
At 2.08 metres, Croatia's Karlovic towers over the
opposition but Murray will hope that when it comes to shaking hands at
the end of the contest, he will be the one standing tall.
Murray has won all three previous meetings but 2001
Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic warned that his fellow Croatian is a
much improved player than the version the Scot last encountered in
2008.
"He can make a lot of trouble for a lot of top guys. He
moves well for his height, he has a huge forehand. He has this slice
that is very dangerous and doesn't bounce," Ivanisevic told a small
gathering reporters in one of Wimbledon's hospitality marquis.
"Andy's just going to have to pray that Ivo's not going
to serve bombs. You have to wait and take every chance this guy's going
to give you because it's not tennis there.
"It's not going to be a beautiful match, you can't
expect you're going to play a great match because for half an hour it
can happen you are not going to touch the ball."
Czech Lukas Rosol's feet might not touch the ground as he finds himself on Centre Court on his Wimbledon debut.
Only problem is he is up against Rafa Nadal and since
the Spaniard has reached the final in his five previous appearances
here, he is likely to bring the Czech back down to earth very swiftly.
On the women's side, Serena Williams will be glad to be
back in an arena she feels befits a four-times former champion.
After being made to open her campaign on the more
intimate Court Two, which ranks as the third showcourt at the All
England Club, she is back on the main stage for clash with Hungarian
wildcard Melinda Czink.
Also in action will be holder Petra Kvitova against
British hope Elena Baltacha, while Maria Sharapova will have to come
back to finish her match against 2010 semi-finalist Tsvetana Pironkova
which she leads 7-6 3-1.
