After Ruud’s win in Madrid, who are the new best men’s tennis players seeking their first "big" title?

This must go down as the record achieved with the least fanfare in 2011. Let it be known that Ivo Karlovic hit the fastest serve ever recorded, in the fourth set of a first-round Davis Cup doubles match between Croatia and Germany in Zagreb in March. The shot didn’t win the Croats the game; it wasn’t even an ace, as Germany’s Philipp Petszschner somehow got his racquet on the ball. Few people in the crowd seemed to notice at the time, but the speed gun on the court registered 251 kmph—156 miles per hour, one better than the mark set by Andy Roddick in 2004.

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One person who did notice was Dr. Ace himself, though even his reaction was a bit muted: “I noticed that while serving, saw it on the screen” Karlovic said afterward. “It is really great.” He might have been happier about it if Croatia had won the match, but in the end it was only one shot, even if it was the fastest one ever hit,

—Steve Tignor

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