Records tumble as Karlovic wins Australian Open epic against Zeballos

17 January 2017 12:09

Big-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic won the longest fifth set in the history of Australian Open singles to beat Horacio Zeballos 6-7 (6/8) 3-6 7-5 6-2 22-20.

Karlovic came from two sets down to seal a stunning victory on Court 19 after a marathon contest lasting five hours and 15 minutes and featuring a combined total of 108 aces.

The final set alone included a tournament-record 44 games and took two hours and 37 minutes, 10 minutes longer than Novak Djokovic needed for the entirety of his straight-sets win over Fernando Verdasco.

Karlovic himself delivered 75 aces, which also smashed the previous Australian Open record of 51 set by Thomas Johansson in 2005.

The world number 21 goes through to the second round in Melbourne, where he will now meet Australian wildcard Andrew Whittington.

Source: PA