Ivo Karlovic has become the oldest man to reach the third round of the French Open for over twenty years after outlasting Australia’s Jordan Thompson 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 12-10.
The 37-year-old Croat produced a total of 41 aces during the marathon match, which lasted just over four-and-a-half hours. The win makes Karlovic the oldest man to reach the last 32 at Roland Garros since Jimmy Connors in 1991.
“It’s the only time when being old is okay,” he joked after his second round win.
Along with his impressive ace tally, the Croat also fired 102 winners past Thompson. Despite being a veteran of the tour, Karlovic will now play in the third round of the French Open for only the second time in his career after 2014. This week is his 47th appearance in the main draw of a grand slam tournament.
“It’s unbelievable because this year I was struggling with the injury, with the knee. So I was out for two months almost.” Karlovic said about his place in the third round.
“So this is really unbelievable for me.”
Prior to this week, the 6ft 10in player has only won two out of his 11 main draw matches this year. Those two wins occurred last month at the Istanbul Open where he reached his first ATP semifinal since July 2015.
The world No.28 will now play Andy Murray for a chance to reach the last 16 of a major tournament for only the fourth time in his career. Murray booked his place in the third round after surviving a five-set epic against French wildcard Mathias Bourgue. Karlovic currently has a head-to-head record of 0-6 against the British player.
Achieving a career high of 14th in 2008, Karlovic has won six ATP titles and has defeated 20 top-10 players. His most recent scalp was against Stan Wawrinka at the 2015 Swiss Indoors last October. Since 2003 he has ended each season within the top-100.
Karlovic vs Thompson : 6-7 6-3 7-6 6-7 12-10 😱 #RG16 https://t.co/tWr0rCUb0G
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) 25 May 2016
