Devvarman draws a familiar foe

He stands 6 feet, 10 inches. He weighs 230 pounds. His serves have been clocked at over 150 miles per hour.

He is Ivo Karlovic, Somdev Devvarman’s opponent tonight in the third round of the Legg Mason Classic in Washington.

Yes, Karlovic — a 30-year-old from Croatia who is ranked No. 33 in the world — can be a little intimidating.

In a match versus Lleyton Hewitt at the French Open in May, Karlovic had a record 55 aces — and lost.

Therein lies the good news for Devvarman, the former Virginia star who shocked 15th-ranked Marin Cilic on Tuesday night: Besides a blistering serve, Karlovic doesn’t have much else.

Devvarman was able to beat Karlovic in straight sets in their lone meeting in January in the quarterfinals of the Chennai Open.

“I think he’s going to come for revenge,” said Devvarman, half-jokingly. “Playing a guy like Ivo, it could go either way, obviously. If he’s serving well, it’s really hard to get a look on his serve. You just have to do your best on your serve.

“If Ivo is serving well, it’s just awesome pressure. I will have to play really well.”

If Devvarman can get past Karlovic, he would be on a collision course with Wimbledon runner-up Andy Roddick, the tournament’s top seed. Roddick was an easy 6-3, 6-2 winner over Benjamin Becker on Wednesday night.

Devvarman, who has made a meteoric rise up the rankings since turning pro last summer, said he isn’t surprised by his success.

“I feel like I’ve put in a lot of work and have been doing things the right way,” said the 153rd-ranked Devvarman. “I’m just going to keep taking it one match at a time and not worry about what round I’m in or who I’m playing. I just want to go out and play as hard as I can and let the chips fall.”

Devvarman, a two-time NCAA champion, understands that his margin of error, unlike college, is extremely small.

“For me to beat anybody — whether they’re ranked 40th or 100th – it’s a very small difference,” he said. “I need to be on top of my game against any of these guys. It really doesn’t matter how tough the draw is. It’s one person in front of me every day and I have to come up with the best way to beat them.”