Davis Cup: Karlović Withdraws Again and Ljubičić Gladly Takes his Place
The tension is high as the quarter-finals begin in the city of Zagreb for the Davis Cup. However, a star born in this city, and a player on the Croatian team, has withdrawn due to a foot injury.
Ivo Karlović, the man in question, had also withdrawn from the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. The year appears to be grim for the young Croatian, who always had strenuous relationships with the Croatian Tennis Federation. Karlovic's height made him famous, 208 cm, making him the tallest tennis player entering the tournament. This peculiarity also makes his game play quite unique, with a serve that many players can only dream of.
Karlović performed brilliantly in the 2010 Australian Open, meeting Radek Stepanek in a five sets match. The thirteenth-seeded Stepanek lost to the Croatian 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Karlovic then reached the fourth round—an unprecedented event in his career. His next opponent was Julien Benneteau, who he defeated in four sets, and Ivan Ljubičić, his possible replacement for this year’s Davis cup. Playing the best tennis of his career, however, was not enough to win against Karlovic's next adversary, defending champion Rafael Nadal, to whom he lost 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 4-6.
At the 2010 Davis Cup, Croatia faced Ecuador in the first round. Karlović then enabled a 6-2, 5-7, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Nicolás Lapentti, his third five sets win.
Karlovic's withdrawal from Wimbledon was not the first for the young Croatian. There was some hearsay that a dispute between Karlović and the Croatian tennis chiefs had made him drop out of the Davis Cup campaigns. The quarrel was reported to be about the financial disproportional distribution of the tennis players’ prizes within tournaments. The issue has directly affected Karlović, who has never received any financial help from the Croatian Tennis Federation as a junior player. The former Croatian Tennis Federation president, Suad Rizvanbegović, is attributed responsible for having provided the entire budget’s money to other players.
The relationships between the Croatian and his superiors fueled many rumors. In September 2007, when Croatia tied with Great Britain during the Davis Cup, the former supporter of the Croatian team, Goran Ivanišević, was absent from the confrontation, which was interpreted as a supporting gesture to Karlović’s cause.
Karlović was also responsible for worsening his ties with the Croatian Tennis Association, and the Croatian Olympic Committee, when he withdrew at the last-minute from the Olympic tournament in Beijing. Apparently, he relayed this news via a SMS message.
The Croatian team, which had made it to the semi-finals last year, will be in great need of a talented replacement player. The chosen one was Ivan Ljubičić, who admitted on Monday that Serbia was unfortunately the favourite for their confrontation, but that "it wouldn't be the first time that favorites don't win."
The coach of the Croatian team, Goran Prpic then added to CBC Sports that Serbia is a "tough opponent," but that Croatia "is ready for that challenge." Ljubičić’s current entry list ranking is No. 13, which he accomplished in March 2010.
Ljubičić’s addition to the Croatian team makes many hopeful. He actually helped the Croatian team back in 2005 when they won the Davis Cup against the Slovakian team, an achievement he would like to repeat in this year’s cup.
However, there is another motive to Ljubičić’s participation. The Croatian team will confront the Serbian team, which is led by World No. 2 Novak Djokovic. Ljubičić entered the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships, where he lost in the quarter-finals to the Serb Djokovic in three sets. The revenge might be his, if he were to defeat the Serbian star that propelled his team into the Davis Cup quarter-finals for its first time.
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