Ivan Ljubicic crashes out to Michael Berrer in the second round – PBZ Zagreb Indoors 2012
Home favourite and the top seed, Ivan Ljubicic, was ousted by the German star, Michael Berrer, in straight sets at the PBZ Zagreb Indoors 2012 on Wednesday. He endured a shocking 4-6, 4-6 defeat at the hands of world number 105 in this ATP (Association of
Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event held in Zagreb, Croatia.
Local star displayed gloomy performance at Dom Sportova and ultimately suffered a straight set shock in an hour and 25-minutes long marathon. He was bidding for his 11th ATP career title but after this defeat, the Croat not only disappointed the
crowd but also trailed in the FedEx ATP head2head series by 0-1 against the German.
"I played badly," the Croat said after his disappointing performance in the match. "It hurts much more losing at home, but the good thing with tennis is that you don't have to wait long for another chance."
The 32-year-old assertively entered the Zagreb courts and held his serve in the opening game with conviction. As the match progressed, Ljubicic lost his rhythm and gifted away his serve in the fifth game. On the other hand, he failed to seek any break opportunity
and eventually registered a 4-6 loss.
Currently ranked 32nd in the South African Airways ATP World Rankings, Ljubicic failed to seek his momentum in the following set and suffered the first blow in the opening game. In spite of recovering in the eighth game, the Croat lost his serve
again in the following game and subsequently endured a 4-6 defeat.
Overall, the Croat clobbered a better first serve share and amazingly registered 32 out of 45 points on it. He also hammered 11 aces but dusted away only half of the six breakpoints he encountered.
Berrer on the other side booked a spot in the final eight at this hard court event.
Fifth seeded Italian, Andreas Seppi, will join Ljubicic towards the exit doors. He suffered a 2-6, 3-6 defeat against the Austrian qualifier, Jurgen Melzer, in their seventh outing. The Italian cashed in one out of six break chances but saved only three
out of seven breakpoints he faced. He also produced a lower first serve share of 66 percent as opposed to the Austrian’s 76 percent and finished the match with 48 points.
"I am very happy with the way I played so far," Melzer said after upsetting the fifth seed. "I needed some matches after an early exit in Melbourne, where I lost in the first round. And after many injury problems I had last year, now I finally play pain-free."
The Austrian number one will square off against Berrer in the quarter-finals.
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