Ace (tennis)

In tennis, aces are serves that go untouched by the server's opponent's racket and thus are unreturned. [ [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ace ace - Definition from Dictionary.com] ]

In professional tennis, aces are generally seen on a player's first serve, where the server can strike the ball with maximum force and take more chances with ball placement (usually in the far corners of the service box). [ [http://www.tennis.com/yourgame/tipoftheweek/tipoftheweek.aspx?id=936 TENNIS.com - Tip of the Week - December 19, 2005 - Your Second Serve ] ]

The most common placement of an ace is a hard flat serve to either the middle or the corner of the service box, or a spin serve out wide such as a slice serve (to the deuce court) or a twist serve (to the ad court).

The ATP circuit record for most aces served in one match is held jointly by Ivo Karlović [ [http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411317/593353 Aces wild: Karlovic gone | TENNIS | SPORT | tvnz.co.nz ] ] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/4116854.stm BBC SPORT | Tennis | Karlovic toppled in epic battle ] ] [ [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-110230622.html Karlovic sets record for aces, but loses match at Wimbledon | Article from AP Worldstream | HighBeam Research ] ] and Joachim Johansson [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9505E3D71E38F937A15752C0A9639C8B63 TENNIS; Agassi Overcomes the Fierce Serve of Johansson - New York Times ] ] (51 aces). Interestingly, both of these achievements were gained in losing matches. The record for the fastest ace (as well as the fastest overall serve) is held by Andy Roddick who served a 155 mph (~248 kph) ace against Vladimir Voltchkov during the 2004 Davis Cup. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv5J8IcWwfU YouTube - Andy Roddick - Fastest Serve Ever World Record ] ]

At the 2007 Indianapolis Tennis Championships Sam Querrey hit 10 consecutive aces when he defeated James Blake in a quarterfinal. This is believed to be an Open Era record.

The Croatian players Karlović, Ljubičić and Ančić are currently best known for their aces, leading the ATP statistics in the number of aces served.

Goran Ivanišević, also Croatian, holds the record for most aces served in a year with 1477 in the 1996 season.

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