ATP Pune: Kevin Anderson edges Ivo Karlovic in historic final
He had a chance to go all the way and win the title, saving two match points on serve in the 12th game of the final set and leading 5-2 in the tie break before Kevin grabbed five points in a row that pushed him towards the title a year after he lost the title match to Gilles Simon.
Serving at 70%, Ivo blasted 36 aces to stay in touch with his rival all the time, fending off all eight break points he faced to win 111 points overall, just as his rival did! Kevin defended his second serve in a more proper way and that secured the title for him in the end, losing just 21 points behind his initial shot and never facing a break point.
Despite all that, he needed all the focus of this world to overcome the deficit in the deciding tie break and finish the match ahead of Ivo. After nine commanding holds on both sides, Anderson created a set point at 5-4 with a return winner but Ivo denied it with a good serve, saving another set point when Kevin sent a forehand long.
The South African moved 4-2 up in the tie break after a double fault from Ivo and he grabbed another mini-break with a deep return, winning the breaker 7-4 following another costly double fault from the Croat. Kevin continued to sail through his service games in set number two as well and he earned chances to move over the top in the last two return games when he forged four break points, pretty much the match points considering how well he served.
Returning at 4-4, Anderson fired a backhand down the line for three break points but Karlovic reppeled them all, securing the game after a forehand error from Kevin to remain in contention. Ivo blasted another good serve to save a break point at 5-5 and he dominated in the tie break, moving 5-1 up after a double fault from Kevin and forcing an error from his rival with a great volley in the ninth point for a 7-2 and to keep the title hopes alive.
After 11 easy holds on both sides in the decider, Ivo saved two match points at 5-6 with aces and he opened a huge 5-2 lead in the tie break. With no room for errors, Anderson won two points on his serve before pulling the mini-break back thanks to a forehand cross court winner in the 10th point.
A backhand down the line winner secured the match point for the South African and he converted it with an ace to seal the deal and celebrate the well-earned title after almost three hours of great fight. <table
