Photo: Kyle Clapham
The Calgary National Bank Challenger announced that former world #14 and defending champion, Ivo Karlovic will be returning to the event. Karlovic is the third player announced to play in the event after Canadian Davis Cup stars Vasek Pospisil and Brayden Schnur.
Ivo Karlovic, who has been ranked as high at #14 in the world (currently 124) in singles is known for holding the record for the second fastest serve in tennis at 251 km/h. Karlovic has defeated many top-ranked players including Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic and was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in 2009.
In 2018, Karlovic became the oldest player (39 years 7 months) to win an ATP Challenger tennis event winning the inaugural Calgary National Bank Challenger defeating Australian Jordan Thompson in the final. Karlovic, 40, advanced to the 2nd round of the 2020 Australian Open defeating Vasek Pospisil in straight sets in the opening round before losing to Gael Monfils (World #10) in 4-sets.
The official player and line up announcement will be made at The CORE Shopping Centre (The CORE) on February 10 at 10 a.m. during an exciting pre-event celebration. The public are encouraged to join tournament organizers at The CORE from February 10 to 21 to play with tennis professionals and buy tickets to the highly anticipated event.
For more information about the tournament or to purchase tickets visit: calgary.nationalbankchallenger.com
