Karlovic hospitalized with viral meningitis

   Ivo Karlovic, a 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter) Croat who has had considerable success in Northern California, recently was hospitalized in his adopted home of Miami with viral meningitis.
   Viral meningitis is an infection of the covering of the brain and spinal cord, according to the web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is usually spread through fecal contamination or through respiratory secretions of an infected person.
   The disease is characterized by a sudden onset of fever, headache and stiff neck and often is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and altered mental status. There is no specific treatment. Most patients recover on their own in seven to 10 days. Bacterial meningitis, however, can be fatal.
   Karlovic has maintained his sense of humor through the ordeal, tweeting on Tuesday, "What i learned today: dilaudid is 5 times stronger than morphine. And its gooooood."
   In one of the best finals in SAP Open history, the hard-serving Karlovic fell to versatile Andy Murray 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (2) in 2007 in San Jose. Karlovic also won the $100,000 Sacramento and Tiburon Challengers in consecutive weeks in 2011 during his comeback from Achilles' tendon-related surgery.
   Karlovic, 34, is the tallest player ever to rank in the top 100. Ranked as high as No. 14 in 2008, he has fallen to No. 134.
   Karlovic helped Croatia win its only championship in Davis Cup history in 2005 and reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2009. He pounded a record 156-mph (251-kph) serve in 2011 before Samuel Groth of Australia broke it with a 163-mph (263-kph) rocket last year.
   Karlovic last played in the Sarasota (Fla.) Challenger on clay in mid-April, losing in the first round. He has a Jamaican wife, Alsi, and a daughter, Jada, who will be 2 in September.
   ATP World Tour -- The unseeded team of Dmitry Tursunov, a Russian based in the Sacramento suburb of Folsom, and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland ousted third-seeded Julian Knowle of Austria and Filip Polasek of Slovakia 6-1, 6-4 to reach the final of the BMW in Munich.
   Nieminen and Tursunov had knocked off top-seeded Alexander Peya of Austria and Bruno Soares of Brazil 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
   In Sunday's final, Nieminen and Tursunov will play either Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus and Eric Butorac of Rochester, Minn., or Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. Both teams are unseeded.
   Tursunov, who lost in the second round of singles to fifth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, seeks his sixth career doubles title and first since 2010.
   Big Sky Conference -- Sacramento State's Rebeca Delgado was named the women's MVP, and the Hornets' Mark Marksoo was selected as the co-men's MVP with Joseph Cohen of Eastern Washington.
   Delgado (16-10), a senior from Mexico, led Sac State to its 12th straight Big Sky tournament championship last weekend. She is the 11th straight woman from the Hornets to be named the MVP.
   Marksoo (16-3), a sophomore from Estonia, led Sac State to its fifth Big Sky tourney title in a row. He is the sixth Hornets man in seven years to earn the MVP award.
   Other Sac State players honored were:
   --Olivia Boija and Jennifer Nguyen, women's first team.
   --Katharina Knoebl, women's honorable mention.
   --Sean Kolar, men's first team.
   --Aliaksandr Malko, men's second team.
   --Roy Brandys and Tom Miller, men's honorable mention.