Fastest Serve in Tennis

For a true blooded tennis enthusiast, nothing really beats talking about cool and amusing stuff during a tennis tournament. It is quite amazing how Ivo Karlovic of Croatia broke the world record for fastest serve in the 4th set of 2011 Davis Cup. You could almost miss seeing it, for it was too quick. His serve is well-known to be a terrifying bludgeon on the men’s tournament as he fervently delivers his 156mph (251 km/h) serve. He actually broke the record of Andy Roddick who clocked 155mph (249.4 km/h) during 2004 Davis Cup.

Karlovic is the tallest player at 208cm (6 feet 10 inches) in professional tennis today. Taking the benefit of his height, he is greatly dependent on his serve and delivers many unreachable shots on the court. His initial serve has superior chance of coming in with a heightened direction from his racquet to the service line. Even without good volley, his serve can make a surefire victory with bad returns from his opponents. He has also mastered his serve, making it an offensive weapon to gain points and win the game completely.

With the unique style and speed of his serve, Karlovic became known for tie-breaking set. Since his serve is difficult for his opponents to break and most often he builds a serve-dominated game, it caused him to prolong most of his game. This is also the reason some players say they should be prepared for two tie-breaks, rather than two sets, when playing with Karlovic.

Some critic say, though, that he wouldn’t be able to become remarkable just by being a serve-only player. Surprisingly, he proved all his detractors wrong as he has defeated top players Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, James Blake and Fernando Gonzalez. Another shining moment for him was when he almost beat Roger Federer in a game that ended with a tiebreaking set in the finals.

In many occasions, Karlovic said that he wanted to break the world record for fastest serve in a professional tennis tournament. He’s finally achieved the record of tennis’ fastest serve. He also shares the record for the third fastest serve of 153mph (246 km/h) with Andy Roddick and American tennis player, Roscoe Tanner.

Though Karlovic made the record-breaking fastest serve in professional tennis during this 2011 Davis Cup, he and his doubles partner Ivan Dodig were beaten by opponents Philipp Petzschner and Christopher Kas that gave Germany an overall lead of 2-1.

Find tennis partners and tennis courts on Tennis Round

Leave a comment