Roger Federer is going for more than his sixth Wimbledon crown this year. The Swiss master is just one Grand Slam win away from breaking Pete Sampras’ record as the player with the most Grand Slam tournament victories in men’s tennis.
The world number one ranking is also on the line for Federer as he bids to reclaim the crown that Nadal so famously took off him last year in the Wimbledon final.
His supreme form on the all England court so far suggests the Swiss maestro will make history in the final chapter of Wimbledon 2009.
He is yet to drop a set so far in the tournament, and he looked his usual flawless self against French Open runner up Robin Soderling in the fourth round.
Despite all the gloss on Federer’s campaign so far, his quarter final match up against Croatian Ivo Karlovic could potentially turn very sour.
If Federer’s run to the second week of Wimbledon has been impressive, Karlovic’s form at the moment is unrivalled, such is the skill and power the 30 year old is currently displaying.
After just four matches, Karlovic has served a mammoth 137 aces and is yet to be broken in the tournament.
Not even established top ten stars Fernando Verdasco and Jo Wilfred Tsonga could find the form necessary to upstage arguably the most dangerous serve in men’s tennis today.
Against Verdasco, the Croatian did not even face a break point throughout the entire match.
He took the Spaniard to three tie breaks and eventually took the chances necessary to post a 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 victory that now puts him in a Grand Slam quarter final against Federer.
Having won just four ATP titles in his career, not to mention losing in the first round of Wimbledon in the past four tournaments, Karlovic also faces the daunting task of upstaging an opponent that has won eight of the ten previous encounters between the pair.
Although that statistic points to a resounding Federer victory, it must be noted that of the 22 sets his played against the Croatian, 12 have gone to a tiebreak.
Karlovic’s last meeting against the Swiss maestro in Wimbledon was back in 2004, when he lost valiantly in straight sets 6-3, 7-6, 7-6.
Despite the damning evidence against Karlovic, this is no doubt the Croatian’s best chance to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam.
His service game at the moment is unrivalled, and it is the one aspect of his game that his illustrious opponent cannot match.
Compared to Karlovic’s 137 aces, Federer only has 59, which places him fifth overall in free points won on serve.
The Croatian is also dominating the percentage of first serves won in the tournament so far, with an astounding 91 percent, compared to Federer’s 85 percent.
Toss all these statistics in a blender and Karlovic’s chances against Federer are much greater than many people realise.
Although Federer will remain firm favourite to continue his march towards history, do not be surprised if Karlovic serves well enough to derail the Fed express and send his bid for sporting immortality off course for at least a couple of months when the US Open rolls around.
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