By Chris Oddo | Friday, July 18, 2014
Dudi Sela fell to Ivo Karlovic in two tight sets on Thursday at the Claro Open Colombia, but the 29-year-old Israeli won a bunch of fans with his highly original and highly entertaining post-match handshake.
Video: Sharapova Dwarfs Floyd Mayweather During ESPY Presentation
After dropping the 7-6(8), 7-6(5) decision to Karlovic, Sela, as if he’d had this moment orchestrated in his mind throughout the whole match, rushed to the back of a court to pick of an official’s chair before heading to the net to shake Karlovic’s hand.
Karlovic stared on in disbelief as his 5’9” foe ambled up to the net, placed the chair in front of the net, stepped up on it, and gave Karlovic a hug.
“After I won, I was going to the net to have a handshake and then I look at him and he’s going back to get a chair,” Karlovic told ATPworldtour.com. “I didn’t know what he was going to do and then he arrives and he gives me a hug, which was unbelievable and hilarious.”
Sela, who lost to Karlovic for the second consecutive week, and the sixth time in six career matches, felt the time was right for hugging.
“I always wanted to hug him, but I didn’t have the chance,” Sela told the ATP, “and today I think was a good moment. I saw the chair and I thought it would be nice to finish the match like this with a hug, so the crowd will see it’s okay.”
Karlovic, who at 6’11” has 14 inches on Sela, will face Jimmy Wang in the quarterfinals in Bogota today.