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The serve is, unarguably,the most important shot in tennis. It is the stroke thathas a greater role in setting up apoint than any other stroke. A player's chances of winning a pointincreasedramatically if he manages to hit a well-directed, quick first serve.But who are the fastest servers in tennis? Here is the list of the top 10 fastest serves in tennis by the quickest servers in the game's history, based on the quickest officially recorded serves struck by them.Note 1:Roscoe Tanner's fastest serves in tennisis not considered in this list;many peopledonot consider itas an official record due to the inaccuracy of the equipment used in 1978.Note 2: Thefastest serves in tennisrecorded at ATP professional tournaments (250 level and above) and ITF professional tournamentsare considered here; serves at Challenger and Futures events have not been taken into account.
#10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Starting off the list is a familiar name. Jo-Wilfiried Tsonga hit a serve timed at 146.8 mph, or 236.3 kph, at the 2009 Paris Masters, which was quick enough to earn him a place at No. 10 in this list. Tsonga has been a regular presence in the men's top 10, and reached the 2008 Australian Open final after stunning Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the semifinals. He also became the first man to register victory after coming back from two sets to love down against Roger Federer at a Grand Slam, when he won their 2011 Wimbledon quarterfinal match.
#9 Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov's 147 mph serve at the 2006 Davis Cup, which translates to 237 kph, is considered as the ninth fastest serve in the history of the game. He has ridden his big serve to twice reach the fourth round at Wimbledon, and has won seven career titles on the ATP tour. His highest career ranking is No. 20, which he reached in October 2006.
#8 Greg Rusedski
This British-Canadian professional tennis player had recorded a serve timed at 149 mph - or 240 kph - in the 1998 Indian Wells tournament. This was, at that time, the fastest record serve of all time. Later, of course, many other players crossed that mark. Rusedski's biggest claim to fame apart from having a great serve is reaching the final at the 1997 US Open, where he lost to Patrick Rafter.
#7 Ernests Gulbis
In 2007, at the St. Petersburg Open, Latvia's Ernests Gulbis struck the seventh fastest serve in history. His serve speed was recorded at 149.3 mph or 240.3 kph. Gulbis is known for possessing a big first serve as well as a quick second serve, and he uses them both to regularly give fits to the top players, having effected several upsets in his career already.
#6 John Isner
Former World No. 9 John Isner recorded a 149.9 mph or 241.2 kph serve at the 2011 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Standing 6'9" tall, Isner holds the record of hitting the most aces in a match - 113 - in his epic match against Nicolas Mahut at the 2010 Wimbledon tournament.
#5 Feliciano Lopez
In 2008 at Toronto, Spain’s Feliciano Lopez bashed a 150.4 mph or 242.0 kph serve, which is the fifth fastest serve ever recorded in the sport. The left-handed Lopez poses particularly severe problems to his opponents with his serve because of the natural angle he generates against right-handers.
#4 Joachim Johansson
Joachim Johansson, a 6'6" Swede, was known for his big serves. He recorded the fifth fastest serve when he served at a speed of 152 mph, or 245 kph, at the Davis Cup in 2004. However, he was also very injury-prone, and retired from the game in 2008 aged just 26. He did attempt to make a comeback to the tour in 2011 and again in 2013, but he hasn't played for a sustained period of time since his first retirement.
#3 Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick had struck a 155 mph serve (249 kph) against Vladimir Voltchkov in 2004 in a Davis Cup tie. He eventually won the match 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 and helped the United States take a 2-0 lead over Belarus in the Davis Cup semifinals.
By serving at 155 mph speed Roddick surpassed his own record of 153 mph set at the Queen's Club tournament in England. The American regularly served aces in the double digits while he was playing on the tour, but he could never ride his big serve to win Wimbledon, where he was defeated in the final three times.
#2 Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic recorded the second fastest serve ever in 2012 at the Rogers Cup. In his second round match against Serbia’s Viktor Troicki, Raonic clocked a serve at 250 kph which comes to 155.3 mph. The Canadian is well-known for his big serve, and wins a majority of his matches by using it to set up his big forehand.
#1 Ivo Karlovic
In the 2011 Davis Cup, Ivo Karlovic of Croatia recorded the fastest serve in the history of tennis, at 156 mph, beating Andy Roddick's previous best of 155 mph. It was a doubles match against Germany, which was eventually won by the latter team. Karlovic has often been called an 'ace machine' for his ability to send down one thunderbolt serve after another. His height of 6'10" helps him considerably in that regard.
