Citi Open finalist Ivo Karlovic makes the quick turnaround from DC to Toronto as he kicks off his Rogers Cup campaign today. The 37-year-old kicks off the first Masters 1000 event of the North American hard court summer against American rising star Taylor Fritz. The match will be last on Grandstand.
Head-to-Head
This will be the first meeting ever for the Croat and the American.
Stellar Past Few Weeks For Karlovic
The Croat struggled for most of this year before the past couple of weeks. Before these last two weeks, he was 8-13 on the season before turning it around to get a couple of huge results. It started at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. He had to come from a set down to take out Frank Dancevic but knocked off Marco Chiudinelli with ease.
His final two matches were filled with tiebreaks. Marcos Baghdatis could not withstand the 37-year-old in two tiebreaks, and Gilles Muller fell in three tiebreak sets despite taking the first. The win gave Karlovic his first title of the year.
At the Citi Open, he received a bye due to him being seeded. He took out American Brian Baker before knocking off third-seeded Bernard Tomic. He followed that up by knocking off sixth-seeded Jack Sock and continued his run of knocking off Americans by taking out fifth-seeded Steve Johnson in the semifinals. Karlovic looked posed for his second title in as many weeks after breaking Gael Monfils in the second set of the final.
He had the opportunity to serve out for the match but failed to deliver as the Frenchman broke to force a tiebreak. Despite holding match point in the tiebreak, it was another missed opportunity for the Croat as the Frenchman took the tiebreak. Monfils used that momentum from set two to break Karlovic early in the third to take the title.
Fritz’s Growing Summer Pains
After his run of ATP Challenger Tour titles to end last season plus strong start to this season, the young Fritz is slowly learning of the difficulties of winning on the highest level of men’s tennis. Fritz’s French Open run was ended quickly at the hands of Borna Coric in the opening round. In Stuttgart, he had to overcome Fabrice Martin in three sets before testing Roger Federer in three despite the loss.
Yuichi Sugita ended the 18-year-old’s tournament in Halle, and Fritz saw another quick exit in Nottingham, this time at the hands of Adrian Mannarino. Despite the first round exit at Wimbledon, Fritz provided a strong display in testing Stan Wawrinka, even taking the third set off the Swiss number two. He easily knocked off Dudi Sela to start off his Citi Open campaign but was dispatched quickly by Alexander Zverev.
Analysis
Both men are strong on serve though Karlovic is the better of the two. The Croat will make looks at break points a premium for the American despite Fritz being a better returner compared to his compatriots. Both players have their go-to weapon off the serve, the forehand, which is the case for most servers, but Karlovic also loves to serve and volley so the 18-year-old will need to devise a plan on if he’ll decide to pass or lob the Croatian giant.
Fritz has the edge in the backhand. He can hit with pace and can also offer the backhand slice, which is what Karlovic is often seen doing. The world number 63 has to target the Karlovic backhand when they get into rallies, something that will be a rare sight, but any rally of more than a few shots will be an advantage for the American.
Prediction: Karlovic in three sets