Ivan Ljubicic overpowers Karol Beck in the opening round – PBZ Zagreb Indoors 2012
Top seed, Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, needed three sets to overpower the Slovakian challenger, Karol Beck, at the PBZ Zagreb Indoors 2011 on Monday. He clobbered a 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3 victory over the world number 100 to book a spot in the round of 16 at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series held in Zagreb, Croatia.
Battling each other after seven years, the Monaco resident, Ljubicic, triumphed for the third straight time against the Slovak at the Dom Sportova. He not only extended lead in the head-to-head series by 3-1 against Beck but also inched closer to $416,000 prize money.
"It's really nice to get a win today. It wasn't easy," Ljubicic told to the official site of the ATP. "I was playing against a player who can play great tennis, hit great shots, and that's exactly what happened today. I was serving well, which helped me hang in there all the way until the end. I played one good game where I managed to break him, and I escaped with a win."
Bosnia and Herzegovina-born Ljubicic self-assuredly entered the Dom Sportova and held his serve in the opening game. He smacked seven aces and warded off both breakpoints faced to keep remaining serves. However, the Croat failed to find any break opportunity and dragged the set to a tie-breaker. He outclassed the Slovak in it and pocketed the opener with a 7-6(5) score line.
The 29-year-old Slovak sought the right path in the second set. He swiped in all of his serves without facing any real challenge and cashed in the only break chance in the eighth game to equalise the set scores. Beck produced a lower first serve share but tremendously clicked 13 out of 15 points on it.
The highest ranked player of the tournament found his rhythm again when it mattered most. He dusted away all three breakpoints he faced and converted one out of two break chances to his advantage in the eighth game. Ljubicic also fired six aces and penned down a higher first serve share to seal the decider with a 6-3 win.
"I really don't feel like the top seed," said Ljubicic, who is eyeing for his second title here after conquering the debut tournament in 2006.
Next up for the Croat is the winner of the match between German star, Michael Berrer, and the Swiss qualifier, Marco Chiudinelli.
On another court, seventh seeded Robin Haase dumped a local wild card enterer, Kristijan Mesaros, in straight sets to join the top seed in the second round. He lost his serve once but broke the local star's serve four times to seal the deal in just under an hour.
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