Can Ivo Karlovic stop Federer and History at Wimbledon

London, Great Britain – So far, four players – Yen Hsun Lu, Guillero Garcia Lopez, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Robin Soderling – have stepped up to the plate and taken their best shot at Federer. Save for Kohlschreiber, who took a set off Federer, none ruffled his feathers and he soars into the quarters looking better than ever.

Next to wield his racquet against Federer and try to stop the Swiss maestro and history at the All England Club is big-serving Ivo Karlovic. The 6’10 Croatian reaches the quarters after beating Fernando Verdasco in four tight sets. I have to admit I was backing Nando to come through but I am happy to see Ivo reach the quarters at Wimby. Watching the game was a tad bit boring – came down to the big man’s serve (A+ effort once again) – but when you serve as big as he does you deserve success on grass. It is kinda freaky that Karlovic has never before reached the second week of Wimby. Can he continue his impressive run and go one better at Federer’s expense?

Tennis Betting Line: Ivo Karlovic +600 Roger Federer -1200

Match Time: 06:00 A.M. Eastern Time Wednesday July 1 2009

Head-to-head Analysis: Federer has a comfortably 8-1 lifetime edge; and a 2-0 edge in 2009. The only time Karlovic beat Federer was at the Cincinnati Masters in 2008.

Ivo Karlovic +600: The killing spree Ivo Karlovic has been on at SW19 makes his +600 underdog odds rather tempting. His next opponent is no pushover though. Karlovic’s 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(9) victory against Fernando Verdasco earned him a place in his first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal and sets up one of the biggest showdowns on the ledger for Wednesday’s Wimbledon betting action. Karlovic is 1-8 against Federer; for all his weapons, not the least is his booming serve, Karlovic has managed to beat Federer only once in nine tries.

Roger Federer -1200: Roger Federer enters this high stakes match as the firm favourite, listed at -1200 at BetOnline. He is a comfy 8-1 to the better against Karlovic. The 6’10 Croatian is not a player many like coming across in any tournament but Federer has dealt with him enough times successfully that the market is confident he will deal with him so once again. A side note: one of the most impressive statistics in men’s tennis is Federer’s Grand Slam streak. Federer has made the semis or better in 20 consecutive Grand Slams (and still counting). Of the 20 Grand Slams, he won 14, finished runner-up in four – thrice at Roland Garros to Nadal and once at Wimby, once again to Nadal. Only twice has Federer not reached the title match – in 2005 when he lost to Nadal (yes him again) in the semis at Roland Garros; and in 2008, when he lost to Djokovic in the semis at the Aussie Open.

Tennis Betting Verdict: It will be their tenth career meeting but the highest stakes match as this is the first time they meet at this stage of a major tournament, the quarters of a Grand Slam – Wimbledon no less, the most coveted and prestigious of all the four Grand Slams. Karlovic has always been a threat on grass but for some reason he has never done well at Wimbledon, until now. Karlovic lost to Federer at Wimbledon once before, in 2004 when they collided in the R16, Karlovic went down in straight sets 6-3, 7-6(3), 7-6(5). The way he has been playing at Wimby this time around, you have to believe he will bring more game than that against the Swiss on Wednesday. Speaking of the maestro, the way he has been playing this last month you have to believe he will persevere. I expect a close five-setter with Federer winning.

Tennis Free Picks: Federer in five sets