Ivo Karlovic may list himself as an Aventura resident these days, but the 6-foot, 10-inch King of Aces is a hero in his native Croatia this weekend.

On Friday, Karlovic staged a raging comeback to defeat American James Blake 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 7-5  in the Davis Cup quarterfinals round.  Along the way, he scored 47 aces, just one short of Canadian Gustavo Kuerten’s Davis Cup record. It was the first five-set victory in Karlovic’s career. He had been 0-11. The 30-year-old Karlovic is 27^th in the ATP rankings; Blake is ranked 17^th.

Karlovic’s teammate Marin Cilic sealed the deal Sunday with a four-set victory over Blake. A U.S. doubles victory Saturday had kept the U.S. team alive after the Croatians won  both singles matches Friday.

The team victory – Croatia’s third straight over the Americans – sends them into the semifinals against the Czech Republic. The Croatians won the cup in 2005.

For Karlovic, it was a triumphant moment in a tumultuous career on Croatian soil. After the match, he moved along the front row of spectators high-fiving fans.

Karlovic, winner of four ATP tournaments, had been involved in a running dispute with the Croatian Tennis Federation over distribution of prize monies and withdrew at the last minute from the Croatian team at the Beijjng Olympics.

In the after-match press conference, Blake gave credit to Karlovic whose game “doesn’t give you a rhythm to play normal tennis.” Karlovic also had beaten Blake in the 2007 French Open.

Blake also took a shot at the “disrespectful” Croatian crowd that booed American fans and clapped as he served. Players also have complained about dead spots in the clay courts at Porec.