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Scotsman having shoulder problems, Karlovic breaking records

The Croatian became the first player to have fired 40 or more aces in three back-to-back matches. He won all three tie-breaks against Tsonga, not losing a single service game. Murray was convincing against Seppi but lost the third set due to shoulder problems. Murray's last Wimbledon match against Karlovic was all about the line judges, who drove him crazy by calling 11 foot-faults

Tsonga did a great job on break points, having converted the only one he had against Karlovic's serve while saving both on his serve. Karlovic did the tie-breaks better to win all three. Tsonga seemed totally frustrated at times as Karlovic fired his best moves in those key moments. Of course, everything is easier when you have such a serve. Ivo fired 41 aces in the Tsonga match to keep on dominating that segment of the game. 

It's no secret that Karlovic's serve is based around the serve, which is the case with many players but Karlovic always stood out. He had 76% of first serve and won 89 out of 99 first serve points. He won 34 points on return but all three tie-break were great for him as he won 2 points on return in the first one, two in the second one and one in the final tie break, while at the same time not losing a single service point. That suggests that the Croatian veteran has a great deal of mental strength at the moment.

- Opening the match well is always important, especially on grass court. Of course, when I serve this well, when I'm able to fire a lot of aces and serve winners, it's easier. I often get asked about where the calmness comes from. It's easy, I take it one point at a time. I am always focused only on the next point - Karlovic said and turned to his next match:

- It's won't be easy against Murray but if I serve well like in the Tsonga match I'll stand a chance.

The French media were particularity interested in one controversial point. It was when Tsonga had a set point and Karlovic hit a volley, which upon further examination did seem suspicious. Of course, the reporters asked Kalrovic about it at the press conference:

- It's slow motion so it seems like I double hit the ball but I didn't. I hit the bottom part of the racket and bounced up then onto the court. It was all in one motion so the shot is legal. I did not double hit intentionally, I'm not that fast. 

Unlike Tsonga, Murray normally does not struggle with good servers. Return is his strong suit even though he had number of strong weapons in the Seppi match. He was superior in all segments of the game but went on to lose 6 straight games in the third set and lost a service game early in the fourth one. But he had some problems with the shoulder, which got more coverage in the British media than the match itself. 

- I've had problems with it the last few days. There is pain but only when I serve. I called the medical time-out and the guy said it was like a machine gun going off when he laid on top of me. My back cracked a lot but it's all under control. There's no reason for concern - Murray said. 

He later added that he was in most pain late in the second set, which explains a lot of errors in the third set. But he managed to find rhythm and get the job done against the Italian who otherwise had nothing that could pose danger for Murray. Karlovic won't stand a chance in most rallies either but it's questionable how many of those will we even see. There are no secrets. Karlovic has a simply game plan and so does Murray:

- I know he will serve well and go on the net a lot. My return will have to be very good if I want to advance through. 

Murray is on a 5-0 head-to-head record. Their 2012 Wimbledon meeting was particularly interesting. Karlovic was very angry in that close match in which line judges played a huge role. We don't have the exact number of foot faults Karlovic had in the last matches but back in 2012 that is probably what decided the outcome. He was seething with anger after that defeat: 

- I have never had this many foot faults in my life. There were 11 now, right? That is insane. The moments at which they were called were interesting. It was never at 30-00 or 40-00 but only at 30-30 or in tie-break. I even stood back a little afterwards to prevent them from calling foot fault but it didn't help. It was shitty officiating. I felt crossed.

The conspiracy theory was soon not even mentioned and Murray went on to lose the final to Federer. Karlovic didn't bring it up again. Murray will have a very tough task on return today, if the line judges don't call foot faults again. Karlovic has fired at least 40 aces in each of the last 3 matches. He is now less than 500 aces short of Ivanisevic, who played a lot more matches in much faster conditions. Karlovic is averaging only 19 aces per match at Wimbledon but his average went to 45 in three matches this season. If Murray's shoulder is still a problem Karlovic will find a way to make it an even bigger problem. 

Karlovic lost to Murray here three years ago. I don't remember ever seeing him as furious as he was after that match. The reason for his anger were 11 foot faults called when he was serving, mostly at important moments. I'm not going to go into who was right, that's not important now, but Ivo was angry because he know what kind of a chance he had. Even like that, seething with anger, he managed to get a set. Now, Karlovic is doing much better now. He became the first player ever to record more than 40 aces in three back-to-back matches and didn't lose any service points in three tie-breaks against Tsonga. He's done a great job mentally. What I like most about him is his style, which is similar to Raonic's. That means he takes a lot of risk on return and his forehand is better than ever now, allowing him to fire the shots from the baseline. Murray is on an 8-match winning run but it seems like too many matches are leaving a trace on him. He had some difficulties with the shoulder against Seppi. To avoid any confusion, he was destroying the Italian who did not to stop him but Seppi won a set totally undeservedly. Beause of Murray's shoulder. Even though he says it's nothing serious, he did admit to having problems with it. That is not the key for me but it only takes a second, one poor service game and the set is lost against Karlovic. Federer didn't stand a chance on return in Halle recently but he's doing great in tie-breaks against Karlovic for years now. Also, the Croat has much more respect for the Swiss. Things are different against Murray. He won a set three times in the 5 defeats to Murray and lost the tie-break in one. He has what it takes to play the Scotsman, I knows he thinks he can stun him today. We need only one set and even though the shoulder problems got the odds down, they still good.

You can find the bet with WillHill, 'To win a set' under 'set betting'.