Tennis has a fair share of problems, but ageism isn't one of them.
Venus Williams is 36 years old and still in contention in the third round of the Australian Open. So are 35-year-olds Serena Williams and Roger Federer, arguably the greatest players of all time. Tommy Haas is giving it one more shot at 38, and Francesca Schiavone is 36 but not quite ready to file for retirement benefits.
The draw in Melbourne was awash in players over 30, but the one who towers over them all, literally and figuratively, is the Croatian who spits out aces like a nail gun: 37-year-old Ivo Karlovic.
Karlovic lit up Melbourne Park with his record-setting first-round performance. He blasted 75 aces in his win over Horacio Zeballos in a 5-hour, 14-minute win, 6-7(6), 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 22-20. He smacked 38 of those aces in what would become the longest fifth set in Australian Open history.
Most pundits, decrying the tournament's failure to embrace the fifth set tiebreaker (as does the US Open), didn't give Karlovic much chance in his second round. But he was lucky to draw Andrew Whittington, an Aussie wild card, who staggered away from his straight-sets loss to Karlovic shell-shocked and burned by 19 aces and 44 winners, many of them volleys set up by that monstrous Karlovic serve.
Karlovic has another winnable match in the next round, with No. 11 seed David Goffin. That would leave Karlovic one step away from his best-ever Grand Slam result, a quarterfinal loss to Roger Federer at Wimbledon. With the loss of No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov is, after Goffin, the most dangerous man in the quarters. That amounts to a great opportunity for Karlovic.
Unlike most over-35 players, Karlovic may still be improving. Once lacking in confidence, and ungainly at 6-foot-11, Karlovic finally appears to have grown comfortable in his own skin -- and with that first volley. He's No. 21, fast approaching his career-high ranking of No. 14, which he attained nearly eight years ago.
Is it possible Karlovic will eclipse it? His attitude toward the years is: Who's counting? After his first-round win in Melbourne, he told the media: "I think it's a good thing that I'm still here. I realize this is an unbelievable life that I have. I really love traveling. I love winning. It's an unbelievable life. I'm hoping that it will not end soon. As long as I will not have any other injuries, and while my ranking is up here, I will continue, definitely."
The introverted, ascetic-looking player once had trouble communicating his feelings and had to overcome a painfully embarrassing habit of stuttering when speaking publicly (as in, at a media conference). But he has become adept at expressing his love for the game in myriad ways, verbal and otherwise. And that has endeared the player affectionately known as "Dr. Ivo" to a cultish legion of fans worldwide. They embrace him as an anti-star. He's a man of the people in a world full of complicated stars and the hype that surrounds them -- and that they often invite.
All that helps explain why Karlovic's matches draw such a cross-section of supportive fans. As he said of his win over Zeballos, "Atmosphere was really good. There was a lot of Croatians, a lot of Argentinians, also every other nationality. It was really cool."
Then there's that droll Twitter account:
What isn't nearly so funny, at least to his rivals, is Karlovic's serving prowess. He's already the all-time ace leader, with close to 11,700. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut each hit more than 100 aces in that epic 2010 Wimbledon five-setter won by Isner, 70-68. But Karlovic is responsible for five of the next six-highest ace totals, starting with the 78 he drilled in a losing Davis Cup effort. The 75 aces he hit against Zeballos is the most he has struck in a win.
The ability to pop aces and end points quickly by following the serve to the net, as Karlovic often does, certainly helps an older player save energy. But five hours of tennis on a stifling hot day is still nothing less than brutal, not the least because of the concentration required to play serve-and-volley tennis.
Asked if, deep in the fifth set, Karlovic ever wanted to just give up and get off the court, he replied: "Well, no. Actually I was thinking about that other match -- Isner against Mahut [at Wimbledon]. I was hoping little bit it could go this long so I could also have record. This is also good like this."
Glutton for punishment, or a man who thinks his best years are ahead of him? Probably the latter. After all, he's still just 37.