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The serve will, without a doubt, be in the spotlight again

After five back-to-back matches without losing his serve, Karlovic faltered twice against Dolgopolov, but he still managed to win. He hit 53 aces and 90 winners and earned a third head-to-head match against Tsonga. The previous two were played on grass-court, and the chances for a break are minimal

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After a good start of the new season, Karlovic, as expected 'slowed down' on clay, but with the start of the grass-court season he upped his game. He won a tournament in the doubles competition, in singles he got into the quarterfinal and a semi-final which he reached by setting a world record of aces in a match won in two sets. 

Ivo arrived at Wimbledon in fine form, this time as the 23rd seed. This guaranteed him that he will not face a seeded player in the first two rounds, but the draw still wasn't all that great for him. In the first round he faced young and talented Ymer who previously passed through the qualifications and he wasn't an easy opponent. After losing a set, Karlovic upped the tempo and deservedly won the next three sets after which Ymer said he never faced a better server. 

Ivo has, for the fifth consecutive time, saved his serve, but in the next round he did lose his serve. Quite unpleasant Ukrainian Dolgopolov, who previously defeated him in both of their head-to-head matches, won the first set with a break right before the tiebreak, but it seemed that it made dr. Ivo angry. He secured the next two sets with two breaks, and after he took a break in the fourth set, many thought that the game is over. But with a several good moves by the Ukrainian, supported by his opponent's mistakes, Karlovic lost his serve for the second time and that set went into tiebreak. Dolgopolov played better there and it was obvious we had a drama ahead of us. 

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In the following 'game of nerves' the Croat managed better and deservedly advanced into the third round. The critical break happened when he had a 12-11 lead and he managed to advance into the next round after a great thriller. He was lead to victory by his great serve (72% of first serve, 87% of points won after it, 53 aces), and we should also mention that he hit 90 winners and made just 20 unforced errors.

- It was really hard. I think we both played well, but someone had to be ousted. I faltered in the fourth set as well, but I managed to keep my focus and I'm happy for it - Ivo commented on his second win, and then announced his next opponent:

- I already defeated him here, but that match has nothing to do with this one. I am aware of the challenge ahead of me and that I will have to play the best tennis if I want to advance into the next round. 

Jo Wilfred Tsonga arrived at Wimbledon straight from Roland Garros where he reached the semi-final. He managed to find his form there and achieve his best result on that tournament, but that cost him several days of not playing. Because of the problems with the abdominal wall, he had to cancel all grass-court tournaments until Wimbledon and he has come here with a questionable form and fitness. 

With all that he had to face a dangerous opponent at the very start (Muller) and he had a tough job ahead of him right from the start of the tournament. The good thing was that he confirmed he is no longer having any problems and that he is fit and he managed to defeat the player from Luxembourg in straight sets. After a difficult opponent in the first round, the situation was different in the second one because Istomin was forced to forfeit to Ramos. The Spaniard earned his first Wimbledon win, but he wasn't all that great. 

Tsonga's opportunity for the third round was almost ideal, and he used it, as expected. Even though he started the set by losing his serve, he made a comeback and took things into his own hands. We witnessed his somewhat routine win  which he earned with a break advantage in every set and the quality and abilities in these conditions did their job. Jo was led to victory with excellent serve (71% of the first, 89% points won on it), and we should mention that he hit 37 winners and made only 11 unforced errors.

- I would say that this performance was 7 out of 10. I served well and that helped me a lot. It's important I won without too much effort since I have a great challenge ahead of me - concluded the Frenchman who will face the tall Croat for the third time in his career.

Interestingly, both of their matches so far were played on grass-court, a while back in 2007, and two years later at Wimbledon. As expected, the matches were tense and even, and the serves were dominant, while the details were crucial. It would be a surprise if the same scenario doesn't play out today as well.