Karlovic reveals the struggle to find practice partners

There are countless people around the world who would dream to practice with the No. 18-ranked player in the world. But evidently, other professionals aren’t as excited about it because Ivo Karlovic is struggling to find practice partners on the tour.

"It's not that often that I get to practice with another player," the 37-year-old told ATPWorldTour.com. "They don't really like to practice with me, but I don't have a problem with that. I have to see my coach almost every day on the other side of the net."

Karlovic’s coach is not too shabby of a player himself; Petar Popovic was ranked as high as No. 411 in the world. But it’s not too often that professionals show little interest in hitting with some of their peers unless they are close to one another in the draw.

"I think this situation is an advantage," Karlovic said. "The less they practice with me, the less likely they are to get used to my game. I like having a unique playing style."

The Croatian hits extremely flat strokes and likes to employ a sharp slice on the backhand side. That style— which lacks any rhythm—doesn’t exactly lead to the cooperative rallying players like to have in practice.

"I understand the other players not practicing with Ivo," Popovic said. "There is zero rhythm playing against him."

It's also virtually impossible to get used to Karlovic’s booming serve—the 6’11” right-hander has delivered more aces than anyone else in history. Still, even at 37, he has proven to be a difficult challenge for anyone on tour, getting better and better even without fellow players to practice with.