Ljubicic Seals Quarterfinal Berth For Croatia

It was another drama-filled day in Carson, Calif. as Andy Roddick battled Ivan Ljubicic for the honor of remaining in the Davis Cup tie after the US trailed 2-1 going into day three.

Perhaps the lethal weapon of choice for Ljubicic was not his cracking serve or precision backhand, but confidence that led a man like him to play and win three matches in as many days. Almost nine hours of court time and Ljubicic was still going strong despite a formidable opponent across the net.

The tight match was no surprise to devoted fans. Of their six previous meetings, Andy had won five of them while retiring from another with an injury. Their last two matches went three sets or more with four of seven sets going to tiebreaks.

Andy managed to win the first set 6-4, breaking Ljubicic while defending two break points on his own serve.

The second set proceeded in a similar fashion but the shoe was on the other foot. And it wasn’t Reebok. The Croat broke the American once to claim the second set 6-3 and level the match.

The next two sets would span nearly two hours, both going to tiebreaks. But even the tiebreaks seemed to have tiebreaks. Ivan and Andy exchanged breaks in the third set to make it even at 6-6 before the twenty-five year old Ljubicic finally earned set point at 12-11 points. That was the last of any breaks they would see throughout the next set. To win his tiebreak, Andy needed three set point opportunities to best the Croat.

The two tennis warriors split the four sets evenly forcing a fifth.

Andy was broken twice (in his first and third service games) to go down 4-1 in almost a heartbeat as Ivan reeled off eight straight points to start the set. But as he continued to dig deep, Ljubicic continued to hang onto the lead, earning two match points at 5-2 at 40-15. A characteristic ace, his 19th of the match equaled by Roddick, gave Croatia the victory and a place in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup.

A great team effort by everyone and another close match.

The Davis Cup tie is over for now, but the tennis has just begun. After appearing on the Tonight Show tomorrow night, Andy will head to Indian Wells, Calif. for the Pacific Life Open, the first Masters Series Event of the year. He has posted great results there in both his appearances, reaching the quarterfinals in 2003 and 2004.

Good luck Andy and great effort team!