Ivo Karlović, at six feet and eleven inches tall, is a handful to play even in his 43rd year. Bernabé Zapata Miralles looked to have the measure of the massive Croatian — he flicked passing shots throughout the first set, and made up for his failure to break by sneaking out the first set tiebreak. His serve pales in comparison to Karlović’s, but he was doing virtually everything else better.

Yet Karlović came back to win the match, showing an impressive strategic mobility. Having come to net prolifically early in the match with somewhat sporadic success (he hit a lot of volleys down the middle, often failing to make use of angles well enough to force his opponent to hit really difficult passes), Karlović stayed back a bit more often in the last two sets.

The second set was a runaway, Karlović storming Zapata Miralles, but in the third, he displayed impressive mettle from the baseline. At 3-all, love-30 on his opponent’s serve in the decider, Karlović patiently defended from the back of the court as Zapata Miralles moved him back and forth. The Croatian finally had enough, approached the net, and was passed, but Zapata Miralles had had to do far more work to win a rally than was expected. Karlović’s newly patient approach and some well-timed aggression earned him the break at 4-all, and he unsurprisingly served out the match seamlessly.

A 2016 Newport champion, Karlović’s serve and legs are not what they once were. He double faulted seven times today, including at 4-2 up in the first set tiebreak. His game is more limited than most, too — he may have one of the best serves ever, but his height helping him produce sick angles comes at the cost of not being able to move optimally from the baseline. And while serving well is a necessary condition to excel at tennis, it is by no means sufficient. There hasn’t been a major champion taller than 6′ 3” since Marin Čilić at the 2014 U.S. Open.

Having control is of the utmost importance in tennis. It doesn’t equate directly to winning, but a player would surely rather have the tools to win a match than to have to hope for an opponent’s errors. Karlović simultaneously has firm control and no control. When he serves, he has all the power. His opponent has little idea where the ball might be blistered from its toweringly high contact point. But if the serve comes back deep, Karlović is in trouble due to his sub-optimal movement and backhand. He can end points by coming to net, but isn’t blessed with feathery touch and doesn’t cover the net all that well, despite his wingspan. And a 20-shot rally? Forget it.

So Karlović’s strength might loom above virtually everyone else’s, but his weaknesses may be equally imposing, except on him, rather than his opponents. Still, even at 42 years old, Ivo Karlović can find ways to make his game work.

I got to ask Karlović a few questions after his match, but the Zoom didn’t properly record, so I can’t put the exact questions and answers in this piece. I’ll add what I remember, though.

I said he defended well and asked what the challenges of playing long rallies for him were. He responded that lateral movement is difficult with a frame as tall as his.

I asked if he would take the hypothetical chance to restart his career as a six-foot-tall player. He said that it was difficult to imagine not being tall, but that he would be able to develop a better return and movement, so “maybe.”

Lastly, I asked what match has stuck out to him the most over his two-decade-plus career, and he said it was his win over Lleyton Hewitt in the first round of Wimbledon in 2003 (Hewitt was the defending champion) because it gave him early confidence that he could do well on tour.