Barcelona Open: Karlovic serves it up

Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic hit 29 aces as he beat Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-7(5), 7-6(8), 6-4 in the first round of the Barcelona Open on Monday.

The Croatian, both the oldest and tallest player at the clay court tournament at 39 years old and 211 centimetres, used his cannonball serve to beat the former champion at the club he has trained at since he was 14.

Tournament favourite Rafael Nadal, who will be looking to triumph for the 11th time, gets gets into action on Wednesday.

Fresh from winning at Monte Carlo, Nadal is looking to take the Barcelona Open title for the third year running.

“It’s a very difficult field and my draw is not going to be easy,” the 31-year-old told a news conference on Monday. “I will have some tough opponents. I will need to play very well.”

Nadal will face late entry Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals should both players reach that stage.

Important results: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez bt Yuichi Sugita 7-6(5), 7-6(5); Marcel Granollers bt Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 6-2; Leonardo Mayer bt Mischa Zverev 6-3, 6-0; Ivo Karlovic bt Tommy Robredo 6-7(5), 7-6(8), 6-4; Benoit Paire bt Nicolas Jarry 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-4; Pablo Cuevas bt Ricardo Ojeda 6-0, 6-4.