Ivan Dodig defeats Illya Marchenko to make it to Zagreb quarterfinals
Croatian tennis pro Ivan Dodig defeated Illya Marchenko of Ukraine in a straight-sets victory to qualify for the quarterfinals of the PBZ Zagreb Indoors, just minutes ago. This was the second singles match to take place at the Dom Sportova today. The match
was an hour and twenty minutes long.
The PBZ Zagreb Indoors is ATP’s first European stop, and it is played on a hard, fast court. The tournament is categorized as an ATP 250 Series event, giving the winner a 250-point increase in the ATP rankings. Last year, Marin Cilic took away the title;
this year’s favourite to win is local player Ivan Ljubicic.
Dodig’s win against Marchenko marks his first victory against the Ukrainian player. The two pros competed against each other in the 2010 PBZ Zagreb Indoors in the round of the last 16; Marchenko defeated his opponent 6-4, 6-2. However, this year the tables
were turned and Dodig cruised to an easy victory with 6-2, 6-3.
The two players are ranked just two spots apart, with Illya Marchenko slightly higher than Dodig at World Number 82. Both players play right-handed, and have not won any career titles yet. Dodig turned pro in 2004, one year before Marchenko. The Ukrainian’s
highest career ranking is World Number 67; Dodig has never broken the Top 80. Both Dodig and Marchenko had won both of the matches they have played so far this year; this was the Ukrainian’s first 2011 loss.
Dodig’s victory over Marchenko also secures his position in the Zagreb quarterfinals. His opponent is second seed Ivan Ljubicic, who defeated Germany’s Daniel Brands 6-2, 6-3 before Dodig’s match. Ljubicic is ranked much higher than Dodig at World Number
15, but the quarterfinal match is expected to be an interesting one. The fact that both players are Croatians will probably be sufficient to draw in mass crowds for the event. In addition to this, Dodig played against World Number 3 and Australian Open champion
Novak Djokovic just weeks ago. Despite losing the match in four sets, Dodig was still the only player to force Djokovic to drop a set in the tournament. This increases his chances of victory drastically, and the match against Ljubicic is for all practical
purposes a toss-up.
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