The mystery man of Wimbledon, Ivo Karlovic, certainly showed the All England Club that he deserved their special invitation to participate at this year’s Wimbledon. Entering his quarterfinal match with the greatest tennis player to ever lift a racket, Ivo had not lost his serve. In fact, his 138 mph serve had rarely been challenged.

The statistics tell the tale and show how the tour’s tallest player at 6 foot 10 inches has been able to reach the quarterfinals. Against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Karlovic registered an astounding 46 aces. Against another highly regarded talent, Fernando Verdasco, the 7 seed, Ivo made 127 serves. The dynamic Spaniard was only able to get 27 of those serves in play. Astounding!

Entering the match with Roger Federer, Karlovic had held serve 129 consecutive times. Amazing! Against Federer, he blistered his serve, dominating the first game at love. After Roger held again, Karlovic fired a 138 fastball down the line. Federer put a short stroke on the ball and Ivo stood flat-footed in disbelief as the ball skipped past him. Uh Oh! Match over!

Roger broke serve easily to take a 3-1 lead and then held for 4-1. The set ended at 6-3 and the match was virtually over. The rest was a mere formality. Ivo Karlovic does not have the racket skills, foot speed or game to stay with Roger Federer and he knows it.

The real question is why is Federer able to figure it out when no other tour player has been so inclined. Roger made it clear to Ivo that the big Croatian would have to play tennis to get to the semis.

While Tsonga complained that it was not real tennis, the Frenchman got it wrong. It was the Frenchman’s inability to make Ivo play tennis that cost him the match. The same can be said for Verdasco.

That is what makes Wimbledon the greatest tournament on the greatest surface. To champion Wimbledon, you need to have all the shots, beat all different styles of play and have the experience and strategy to counter the opposition.

Roger Federer exposed Ivo Karlovic for what he is; the game’s most revered serving specialist. It works for Karlovic and he is not about to change his game so if players expect to beat him, they need to force him into points. As Federer demonstrated in his 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7) quarter victory, it helps to make Ivo move. Even the game’s best serve cannot overcome a lack of foot speed and questionable groundstroke technique.

This is why Roger Federer will be playing in his 21st consecutive Grand Slam semifinal round. This is just one more testimony to the man’s genius. Hail to the king! Roger moves on.

The flamboyant defending champion and tournament top seed has rocked the tennis world once again. This time it is with his absence. The world’s number one has withdrawn from the grandfather and most prestigious of all the Grand Slams. Rafael Nadal announced his withdrawal after the original draw had been formed and sent tournament organizers into a tailspin. Critics score Nadal’s late decision as unfortunately typical. The Spaniard might have been better served by announcing his withdrawal earlier in the week, but that is not Rafa’s style.

There are many players who benefit from Nadal’s departure. Remarkably, the second seed, 14-time Grand Slam Champion and five-time Wimbledon Champion, Roger Federer has the most difficult path to the semi-finals.

In the greatest player of all-time’s quarter are heavyweights Fernando Verdasco (7), Ivo Karlovic (22), Jo-Wilfreid Tsonga (9), Robin Soderling (13) and Feliciano Lopez (21). If form holds, Round Four will be a rematch of the French Open finals pitting Soderling against the five-time winner. In the quarters, Verdasco should be looming, but Tsonga does not go away quietly. Tennis experts are shaking their collective heads and wondering how it could be any more difficult for the focused Federer to claim his 15th title.

Meanwhile, Scotsman Andy Murray, winner of the Queen’s and now top seed in the top half of the draw, has a comparative cakewalk to the quarters. His chief combatants will be Stanislaus Wawrinka (19), aging Marat Safin (14), Fernando Gonzalez (10), Victor Hanescu (31) and 8 seed Gilles Simon, who is not at the top of his game. If form holds, Murray’s fourth round would pit the testy Scot against Wawrinka. The Scotsman would meet the Frenchman, Simon, in the quarters. For Murray the path is clear to the semis.

The fourth seed is Serb Novak Djokovic, who escaped a quarterfinal matchup against Juan Martin del Porto when Nadal withdrew. Djokovic’s quarter has Mardy Fish (28), Tommy Robredo (15), Rainer Schuettler (18), Marin Cilic (11), Tommy Haas (24) and the struggling James Blake (17) who was moved to fill del Porto’s slot. What a mess!

If form holds, Djokovic will meet the tough Robredo in the fourth round and Cilic in the quarters. Djokovic is unaccustomed to such a relaxed draw and this may be just the spark the moody Serb needs to make a big move.

Juan Martin del Porto (5) slides into Nadal’s place. He is far and away the biggest beneficiary of Nadal’s damaged knees. In his quarter are Radek Stepanek (23), David Ferrer (16), Nikolay Davydenko (12), Tomas Berdych (20) and probable quarterfinal matchup Andy Roddick (6).

Like del Porto, Roddick must be licking his chops. Roddick is two-time runner-up at Wimbledon and is enjoying a fine year. It has been a long time since the American has been positioned so well at a Grand Slam.

The Ladies Singles’ Draw

Wimbledon will be Dinara Safina’s most difficult Grand Slam Draw of the year. The number one seed will be challenged to get through the quarters where her decisive Roland Garros conquerer, Svetlana Kuznetsnova (5), will be waiting. The top of the draw looks to provide some other hefty challenges for the nervous Safina, who has a more difficult path than Svetlana to the probable quarterfinal pairing. Fiava Pennetta (15), Amelie Mauresmo (17) and Caroline Wozniacki (9) stand in the way of the French rematch.

Third seeded Venus Williams looks to have the most favorable quarter. The five-time winner at Wimbledon has not needed a lot of help in the past. She is an expert grass-court player. With her sister in the lower half of the draw, the possibility of a Williams-Williams final matchup looks very possible. However, there are stumbling blocks aplenty for both sisters. The main competition in Venus’s quarter will come from the well-conditioned Samantha Stosur (18), Ana Ivanovic (13), Agnes Radwanska (11) and French disappointment Jelena Jankovic (6). Stosur is in top form and poses a stern test for the three seed. Jankovic looks to have a clear path but seems to stumble in Grand Slam tournaments.

Number two seed, Serena Williams is chomping at the bit to regain her former number one ranking. The tough American is well suited for the Wimbledon grass and plays her best when the pressure is highest.

The younger Williams should have smooth sailing to the quarters. A likely fourth round pairing with Patty Schnyder (21) should not present much of a test. However, the quarter possibilities are intriguing. 24th seed and fast returning to form Maria Sharapova (24) is a strong candidate along with hard-hitting Victoria Azarenka (8), and Nadia Petrova (10). There are four potential champions in this quarter.

Elena Dementieva whose sub-par performance in Paris has raised previously unasked questions about her fitness and heart will need to play better to knock off Dominika Cibulkova in the fourth round. Elena will probably face the always-ready Vera Zvonareva (7) or Marion Bartoli (12) in the quarters.

Our longest shot of the Wimbledon event is American 17 year old Melanie Oudin who arrived in the main draw via three qualifying wins. A month ago, the pretty Georgian was finishing her junior year in high school. Oudin plays 29th seed Sybille Bammer in the first round. Oudin could well surprise but will certainly be game.

Two surprising draws are bound to provide great play, loads of emotion and more than the usual number of upsets.