Tennis

For men, age has no limits

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Updated Jul 1, 2009 10:31 PM ET
     
 
WIMBLEDON , England -- The geezer brigade has descended on Wimbledon . Tommy Haas (31), Ivo Karlovic (30), Juan Carlos Ferrero (29) and Lleyton Hewitt (29) have made it to the last eight, meaning the average age of the men's quarterfinalists is 27 years, 107 days. That's the most grizzled octet in 35 years, when 39-year-old Ken Rosewall made the 1974 Wimbledon final and lost to young American upstart Jimmy Connors, who was 21. That group averaged 28 years, 147 days. "I mean, age is really just a number in many ways," said Germany's Haas, who takes on the youngest player left in the draw, 22-year-old Novak Djokovic of Serbia. There also is variety. For the second major in a row, the quarterfinalists hail from eight nations. Like former No. 2 Haas, who missed the 2003 season because of shoulder surgery, many of the resurgent stars at Wimbledon are back from injury or illness. Andy Roddick's opponent, former No. 1 Hewitt, missed the last third of 2008 after surgery on his hip. Spain's Ferrero, another former top-ranked player, has been in one Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal since being sidelined with chickenpox and other physical ailments in 2004. Wild card Ferrero is up against No. 3 Andy Murray, a Scot who is one of the young guns at 22 (and a week older than No. 4 Djokovic). Despite more ticks on the calendar, Haas says the time off means, "I have a little bit more miles in my legs than maybe some other players that are younger than me." At 27, No. 2 Roger Federer is the newbie when compared to his opponent, 6-10 ace machine Karlovic of Croatia. Karlovic leads all players with 137 aces through four matches. Roddick is second with 96. There seems to be consensus at Wimbledon that the grass is playing slower than years past, but that hasn't held back the pace of untouchable serves. Through the fourth round, the men have hit 2,565 total aces. Only once before this decade have more been recorded at this stage of the tournament, according to IBM, which tracks statistics for the All England Club. That was in 2000, when 2,634 aces were hit. The men also finished with a record 2,821 aces that year, when IBM first began tracking total aces. Maybe shorter points are helping older players keep the court mileage to a minimum. Either way, Roddick, 26, says it's nice to see some familiar -- though more seasoned -- faces. "I'm happy to see guys like Juan Carlos get through, and Tommy," the two-time finalist from the USA says. "I mean, they've battled some serious injuries. To kind of get back there and get back deep into a major is good to see." Spotlight Key matches today: Centre Court -- Ivo Karlovic (No. 22 seed) vs. Roger Federer (2). Andy Murray (3) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero. Court 1 -- Tommy Haas (24) vs. Novak Djokovic (4); Lleyton Hewitt vs. Andy Roddick (6). Head-to-head: Federer leads Karlovic 8-1; Karlovic's victory came last year on hardcourts in Cincinnati. ... Murray leads Ferrero 1-0, and the victory came in a Wimbledon tuneup in London. ... Djokovic leads Haas 2-1, but Haas won in a grass-court tuneup in Halle, Germany. ... Hewitt leads 6-5, but Roddick has won the last four, including in a Wimbledon tuneup in London in two tiebreak sets. TV (ET): 7-10 a.m., ESPN2; 10 a.m.-1 p.m., NBC; 1-4 p.m., ESPN2

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