Top seed Kevin Anderson won a serve fest to clinch the singles title at the Tata Open Maharashtra here on Saturday.
The 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 7-6(5) defeat of Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic contained no breaks of serve and a whopping 57 aces, of which 36 came from Karlovic alone.
The end was emblematic of all that had transpired for more than 2 hours and 40 minutes prior to that. At 5-4 in the final set tiebreak, The 6’11” Croat had the match on his racquet but could only watch as Anderson made two inch-perfect passes to first reverse the tide and then served a bullet ace to close it out.
Goes one better
This is the South African’s sixth ATP Tour title and will certainly taste sweeter, coming as it does following his runner-up finish here last year. “It [2018 final] was not in my mind at all,” Anderson claimed later. “A different opponent this time and an entirely different situation. It was just a point here and point there. But pleased to have turned it around in the end.”
The feeling was however unmistakable that Anderson should have sealed the match much earlier. The 32-year-old had two matchpoints on the Karlovic serve at 5-6 in the third set, but saw his opponent, true to character, blast three aces and get away. It would be one of many escape acts Karlovic would stage through the evening.
On the day there was little doubt as to whose was the more explosive serve. But Anderson’s was the better-rounded game. The Karlovic backhand was almost always a defensive slice, used to buy time so that he could charge to the net, and his forehand, a little more than a slap. Anderson, on the other hand, drove his hard from both wings.
Cat and mouse game
What ensued was a game of cat and mouse — Karlovic, with his imposing figure, stationed at the net and Anderson trying to beat the giant wingspan. The World No. 6 passed Karlovic thrice in the 10th game of the first set and brought up two breakpoints only to fluff both. Four more were squandered in the second stanza as the World No. 100 galloped through the tiebreak.
“It’s just different,” Anderson said about Karlovic’s style. “Like dealing with shorter points and when he is serving he just takes it out of your hand. One can’t get too much of a rhythm going. First I had to take care of my service game and I did that very well by not allowing a single breakpoint.”
At 2-1 in the final tiebreak, an disagreement over a line call almost tripped Anderson at the finish line. The subsequent points demanded steely nerves and the 2018 Wimbledon finalist had them in plenty.
The result (final): Kevin Anderson (RSA) bt Ivo Karlovic (Cro) 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 7-6(5).
