Rafael Nadal dismisses Ivan Ljubicic in straight sets in fourth round – French Open 2011
Reigning world number one, Rafael Nadal from Spain eased past Croat Ivan Ljubicic in straight sets to move into the quarterfinal of the 2011 Roland Garros in Paris, France on Monday, May 30th.
The Spaniard took a two hours and thirty minutes to secure a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 win over the Croat.
Playing in their ninth match together, Ljubicic already stood at a handicap. Trailing 2-6 in the head-to-head score, the Croat needed nothing short of a miracle to turn things around, especially since Nadal had already defeated
the Croat in straight sets at Monte Carlo a few weeks back.
An early break in the opener put Nadal in a 3-1 lead. However, fighting back hard, Ljubicic broke back in the sixth game to level the score 3-3. From there on the two players matched blow for blow, keeping the scoreboard ticking
on even terms for the next four games. Serving in the eleventh game, Ljubicic committed four straight errors to hand over the game to Nadal. A break up in the opener, Nadal served out the set at 6-5 without losing a single point.
Although Nadal hit fewer winners than Ljubicic (5 to 17) he also committed less unforced errors (12 to 22), which gave him the edge against the Croat. Recording a 74% win on his first serve, the Spaniard took almost an hour to
go one up in the set score.
The second set progressed slowly in the beginning as Ljubicic followed closely at the Spaniard’s heel keeping the score tied for six games. A lucky break in the seventh game put Nadal in a 5-3 lead. Capitalising on the errant Ljubicic
in the ninth game, the Spaniard was once again able to break his serve and clinch the second set 6-2.
Riding his momentum and a 2-0 set lead, Nadal came out firing in the third set. The Spaniard was able to break Ljubicic in the fourth game, Nadal led the game score 3-1. An exchange of break later, Nadal was still leading the set
4-2. Serving out the set at 5-3, Nadal hit a winner ace at 40-0 to clinch another 6-3 victory.
A defending champion here and a French Open phenomenon, Nadal holds five titles here ever since his debut in 2005. Looking to match Bjorn Borg, the Spaniard hopes to clinch his sixth title here.
Nadal moves on ahead to play either Swede Robin Soderling or local Gilles Simon in the quarterfinal here. The pair are scheduled to follow the Spaniard at the Philippe Chatrier.
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