Ivo Karlovic News

Croatia, Serbia, Austria and France sealed places in the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Sunday after converting 2-1 overnight leads into winning margins.

Hyogo, Japan - Ivo Karlovic defeated Go Soeda in the final match of the weekend, as Croatia downed host Japan, 3-2, to reach the Davis Cup quarterfinals in April.

Japan's Kei Nishikori returns a shot against Croatia's Ivo Karlovic during the first round of Davis Cup World Group tennis in Miki, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan.

Ivo Karlovic and Ivan Dodig beat Tatsuma Ito and Yuichi Sugita 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Saturday to give Croatia a 2-1 lead over Japan in their first-round Davis Cup World Group series.

Ivo Karlovic and Ivan Dodig beat Tatsuma Ito and Yuichi Sugita 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Saturday to give Croatia a 2-1 lead over Japan in their first-round Davis Cup World Group series.

Japan picked up the first point of the day when Go Saeda made a stunning rally for a 6-7 , 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Ivan Dodig, but Ivo Karlovic quickly halted the host nation's momentum with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Kei Nishikori.

In the modern era, the advancement of racket technology has heightened the level of significance of the serves.

Fernando Gonzalez of Chile hits a return to Ivo Karlovic of Croatia during their match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, August 29, 2011.

It's that wild and hard-to-follow weekend again, when the men come off the road, gather with countrymen and teammates, and then scatter all over the globe again for Davis Cup's first round.

Kei Nishikori will be aiming to build on his success at the Australian Open when Japan takes on Croatia in this weekend's Davis Cup World Group tie.

There will be an unfamiliar look about Spain when they begin the defence of the Davis Cup against Kazakhstan on Friday with a new captain and without several regulars, most notably Rafa Nadal.

Third-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny and former champion Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus were a pair of quarterfinal winners Friday at the Zagreb Indoors tennis tournament.

Mikhail Youzhny cruised into the quarterfinals of the Zagreb Indoors tournament Thursday, while fellow Russian Alex Bogomolov was eliminated by Slovakia's Lukas Lacko.

Dudi Sela advanced to the second round of the Zagreb Indoors tournament on Wednesday, beating Andreas Beck of Germany 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Sela saved five of Beck's seven break points, while converting four of his seven in the one hour and 47 minute encounter.

Second seedA Alex Bogomolov Jr. , the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award recipient for 2011, began his quest for a first ATP World Tour title with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Croatian wild card Dino Marcan on Tuesday in 63 minutes at the PBZ Zagreb Indoors .

No. 3 seeds David Marrero and Pere Riba reached the quarter-finals of the VTR Open Monday, dismissing wild cards Gonzalo Lama and Matias Sborowitz 6-1, 6-2 in ViA a del Mar.

Roger Federer played his third outstanding match in row as he defeated Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in Tuesday's quarterfinal.

Roger Federer has been told by a few of us pundits in recent years that he should try to develop a two-handed backhand to counter the ground stroke power of his younger, double-fisted rivals.

It is always shocking to see Roger Federer not labeled as the favorite in a Grand Slam, let alone a tournament.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France throws his racquet in the air after a point in his third round match against Frederico Gil of Portugal.