Ljubicic sends Nadal packing
March 22, 2010, Monday
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IVAN Ljubicic rode his big serve to a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1) victory over defending champion Rafael Nadal on Saturday and a berth in the BNP Paribas Open final.
Ljubicic will play Andy Roddick in the final after the American outlasted Robin Soderling 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in Indian Wells, California.
Nadal teamed with fellow Spaniard Marc Lopez to win the men's doubles, 7-6 (8), 6-3 over top-seeded Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.
"After losing important singles, the victory in doubles makes me happy," Nadal said. "It's always nice to end the tournament winning."
Serb Jelena Jankovic and US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark will play for the women's title.
Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia won the women's doubles 6-4, 2-6, 10-5 over third-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia and Samantha Stosur of Australia.
Ljubicic served 17 aces - giving him 64 in the tournament - and overcame 51 unforced errors to end a five-match losing streak against the world's third-ranked player.
The Croatian upset second-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the round of 16 and is in position to win an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time after three runner-up showings, the last in 2006 at Miami.
"I hope this one is going to finally be the victory," he said.
Nadal was trying to end an 11-tournament title drought. He hasn't won since last May in Rome after being hampered by knee injuries last summer and at the Australian Open.
"I am happy how I did after being at home a few weeks. It's not easy coming back and playing with this level," Nadal said. "I was feeling I was playing better than probably closer to ever on this court."
Nadal appeared unbeatable in the opening set, powering forehands out of Ljubicic's reach. But the lefty's best stroke deserted him at times in the second set, when Ljubicic broke for a 5-4 lead on Nadal's double-fault. The Croatian served out the set and then broke again to open the third.
Nadal broke back in the next game, but he later blew a break point to go up 5-3. Ljubicic held with an ace to tie it 4-all. Both players stayed on serve to force the tiebreak, where Nadal committed four errors to fall behind 1-6.
Roddick will play his first Indian Wells final after losing in the semifinals three times, including last year to Nadal.
Roddick and Soderling took turns throwing their rackets in frustration as the momentum swung back and forth. Roddick gained control when he held for 3-all in the third, then broke the Swede en route to winning three of the final four games.
Ljubicic will play Andy Roddick in the final after the American outlasted Robin Soderling 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in Indian Wells, California.
Nadal teamed with fellow Spaniard Marc Lopez to win the men's doubles, 7-6 (8), 6-3 over top-seeded Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.
"After losing important singles, the victory in doubles makes me happy," Nadal said. "It's always nice to end the tournament winning."
Serb Jelena Jankovic and US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark will play for the women's title.
Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia won the women's doubles 6-4, 2-6, 10-5 over third-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia and Samantha Stosur of Australia.
Ljubicic served 17 aces - giving him 64 in the tournament - and overcame 51 unforced errors to end a five-match losing streak against the world's third-ranked player.
The Croatian upset second-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the round of 16 and is in position to win an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time after three runner-up showings, the last in 2006 at Miami.
"I hope this one is going to finally be the victory," he said.
Nadal was trying to end an 11-tournament title drought. He hasn't won since last May in Rome after being hampered by knee injuries last summer and at the Australian Open.
"I am happy how I did after being at home a few weeks. It's not easy coming back and playing with this level," Nadal said. "I was feeling I was playing better than probably closer to ever on this court."
Nadal appeared unbeatable in the opening set, powering forehands out of Ljubicic's reach. But the lefty's best stroke deserted him at times in the second set, when Ljubicic broke for a 5-4 lead on Nadal's double-fault. The Croatian served out the set and then broke again to open the third.
Nadal broke back in the next game, but he later blew a break point to go up 5-3. Ljubicic held with an ace to tie it 4-all. Both players stayed on serve to force the tiebreak, where Nadal committed four errors to fall behind 1-6.
Roddick will play his first Indian Wells final after losing in the semifinals three times, including last year to Nadal.
Roddick and Soderling took turns throwing their rackets in frustration as the momentum swung back and forth. Roddick gained control when he held for 3-all in the third, then broke the Swede en route to winning three of the final four games.
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