Unseeded Ivo Karlovic beat eighth seed Arnaud Clement 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Nottingham Open on Saturday to earn the second title of his career.
The big-serving, 2.08 metres tall Croat wore down the Frenchman, who played twice on Friday, and sealed victory on his third match point when his backhand hit the net cord and sneaked over as a desperate Clement lunged towards it.
The win avenged Karlovic's quarter-final defeat at the hands of Clement at Queen's last week and concluded his Wimbledon preparations in style.
"I came here to play a few matches. I was last in as an alternate so I'm really happy that I won," Karlovic told reporters.
"In the first set I was a little bit nervous. I missed a few easy volleys but after that I was more relaxed and concentrated. That was the only difference. I'd say that I was playing well, the whole match and the whole week."
Karlovic will face another Frenchman, Fabrice Santoro, in the first round of Wimbledon next week.
"I play Santoro in the first round, which is a difficult match for me because he plays similar to Arnaud...But hopefully I'll go far," Karlovic, who won his first title in Houston in April, said.
"Each match at this level anybody can beat almost anybody, except (Wimbledon champion Roger) Federer, I guess. When you step on the court you believe that you can win but statistically against Roger it's difficult."
CLEMENT UNFAZED
Clement, wearing a bandana and sunglasses as the sun returned to Nottingham after two days of rain, was not fazed by Karlovic's formidable serve, the fastest of which went whizzing by at 153 mph (246 kph), just two mph (3.2 kph) short of Andy Roddick's world record.
He broke Karlovic for the first time this tournament in the fourth game when the world number 61 put a volley into the net.
Clement, who knocked out defending champion Richard Gasquet in the quarter-finals, had one more break point in the second set but could not convert it.
While not having much luck at the net, Karlovic put his long reach to good use and made a tiring Clement run around the court chasing shots.
At 5-4, Karlovic squandered three set points before levelling the match with a backhand passing shot.
After that, the Croat, who hammered down 11 aces for a total of 101 this week, never looked like losing, although he made life hard for himself with a series of unforced errors.
Clement, ranked 23 places above his opponent, saved three break points in the fourth game before Karlovic sealed victory with the decisive break in the 10th.
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