Ivo Karlovic has made history at the Australian Open hitting 75 aces in his First Round win against Horacio Zeballos.
The Croatian won the five-hour epic 22-20 in the final set making it the longest final set in the history of the year's opening Grand Slam. Karlovic's record smashes the previous best, set by Joachim Johansson in his four-set loss to Andre Agassi in 2005.
No player has ever hit more aces in their career than the 37-year-old, but he does not hold the single-game record. In 2010, John Isner hit 113 aces against Nicolas Mahut in their marathon match at Wimbledon. The Frenchman hit 103 aces despite losing 70-68 in the final set.
GAME, SET, MATCH! @ivokarlovic beats Horacio Zeballos after 5 hours and 15 minutes 😅 #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/A3rJ0hnoE5
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) January 17, 2017
Karlovic's personal best came in the 2009 Davis Cup semi-final where his hit 78 aces in his loss to the Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek.
Despite losing, Zeballos hit 33 aces in defeat to Karlovic. The Argentine player has still to reach the Second Round in Melbourne despite four appearances in the Australian Open.
Karlovic, seeded 20th in the tournament meets Australian wildcard Andrew Whittington in the Second Round.
Croat @ivokarlovic bombed down an epic 75 aces during his match today, setting a new #AusOpen record! (Previously 51 by Johansson in 2005). pic.twitter.com/uj2FczlTt8
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2017
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