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WIMBLEDON

June 26, 2009

Ivo Karlovic

LONDON, ENGLAND

I. KARLOVIC/J. Tsonga
7-6, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You must be delighted with your performance today.
IVO KARLOVIC: Yes, I mean, I was serving extremely well, but also he was. So it was a lot of aces in this match.
But in the crucial moments, I was playing better a little bit, and that's why I won.

Q. Given how so many of your matches go, is there anything specific you can do to prepare for tiebreakers? Is that something you work on with your coach?
IVO KARLOVIC: No, I don't work on. I don't work on it. It is mostly the nerves a little bit, you know, because everybody gets little bit tight in this situation. So it's important to stay relaxed, focused, and that's it.

Q. When you start a match, your game is different than most players, but are there one, two, three checks that you say, I must do this, I must do this, I must do this?
IVO KARLOVIC: Well, against every player I prepare the tactics, of course. Somebody likes more one thing, somebody likes more other. So I try to do those things. That's it.

Q. In the next round you are playing Verdasco, whom you beat in Nottingham. A few words about Verdasco and Federer.
IVO KARLOVIC: Well, Verdasco is a very good player. We played last year in Nottingham, and it was very difficult match.
After he was also playing well here, so it is going to be difficult match. But with my serve, I feel okay. And hopefully I'm gonna play as well that match.

Q. Are you getting angry about persons who are saying you can just serve and that's all?
IVO KARLOVIC: No. It's actually, I mean, I like it, because if I can win with only one shot, I'm, I don't know, a genius, so I like it (smiling).

Q. Was Goran one of your idols when you were growing up, starting out?
IVO KARLOVIC: Yes.

Q. Was he somebody you modeled your game after?
IVO KARLOVIC: Yeah, when I was young, yeah, because in Croatia he was big, I mean, a star. I was watching him a lot. Also others like Becker, yeah. That was my, like, I don't know, people who I was watching most.

Q. Your record here the last four years has been not very good. One would think your game would be more successful here. How do you explain that?
IVO KARLOVIC: Yeah, well, in the last two years I was playing one week before, which I won Nottingham, so I was not really prepared coming in here.
And in 2006 I was a little bit injured with my knee, so I was not really hundred percent. So that's why.

Q. Could you sense Tsonga getting frustrated out there?
IVO KARLOVIC: Yeah, yeah. I was watching him little bit. Well, of course, because whole match he didn't have one breakpoint, so of course he was not happy, you know, about that.

Q. Do you think it's going to be more difficult this year than in Nottingham against Verdasco?
IVO KARLOVIC: Well, I mean, it was also not easy over there. It was really difficult match. And since then he climb up in rankings, so it is going to be difficult match for sure.

Q. Roger Federer, everybody gives him compliments. You do this. You do that. What is the best compliment you've had about your game from somebody?
IVO KARLOVIC: Only serve, that's it.

Q. Did some person say something to you that you have a fantastic serve or the way you play is unique, something like that?
IVO KARLOVIC: Yeah, yeah. I mean, of course, there is people who appreciate, you know, something that is different, that it's not like 90% of other players, you know. So, yeah.

Q. Can you name any player who gave you a compliment, a player we would know who said something?
IVO KARLOVIC: I don't remember now. But, yeah, it was.

Q. You had your own clothing label. What happened with this? Do you still have it?
IVO KARLOVIC: Well, now it's a little bit on hold. But in the future, it is something that I would like to do maybe.

End of FastScripts

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