Ivo Karlovic is too much for Jared Donaldson at the U.S. Open
The options when Ivo Karlovic is at the net are few and far between for opponents
First off, the 6-foot-11 Croatian is seemingly blessed with the wingspan like a small aircraft. That was what youngster Jared Donaldson was often facing during their third-round match at the U.S. Open on Saturday night.
“It’s tough. It’s definitely difficult when he comes to net because he closes so tight,” Donaldson said. “Cross-court is pretty much impossible to pass. Down the line is very tricky.
“He volleys well, covers the net well, has good hands at the net, knows how to cover the net. The one thing I had a little bit of success with was the lob. When he was volleying deeper, it’s always tougher to get the good feel to get high enough.”
Donaldson, who came through three rounds of qualifying at the U.S. Open, didn’t appear to get overwhelmed by the occasion or the opponent. But Karlovic defeated the 19-year-old from Irvine, Calif., 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-3, in 2 hours 3 minutes to make the fourth round at the U.S. Open for the first time in his long career.
Karlovic, 37, had 14 aces and his fastest serve of the match was a 135-mph offering. He will play Kei Nishikori of Japan in the fourth round.
Donaldson, who was born and raised in Rhode Island, will leave New York with his best Grand Slam tournament result, by far. He will also break into the top 100 in the world when the next rankings are released after the U.S. Open.
“Top 100 is obviously one of the big milestones in tennis,” Donaldson said. “Everybody wants to first get to 100. I don’t want to stop at top 100 now. I want to keep going and I need to keep improving if I want to keep progressing up the ranks. There’s still a long way to go.”
Donaldson has been training in Fountain Valley with Phil and Taylor Dent. But the Dents are soon moving their tennis academy operations to Texas, just outside Dallas.
“Right now, I’m going to Irvine because there’s a couple of weeks before I go to Asia and play tour events over there,” Donaldson said. “I feel getting experience at this level is so valuable at my age because it definitely highlighted more things that I need to work on.
“Obviously you want to be playing against the best players.”
Follow Lisa Dillman on Twitter @reallisa
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