Ivan Ljubicic upset Andy Roddick to win Indian Wells title
Ivan Ljubicic defeated Andy Roddick 7-6, 7-6 to win the BNP Paribas Open Title in Indian Wells.
Ljubucic, who celebrated his 31st birthday on Friday and had claimed the scalps of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in previous days, had appeared in three previous Masters finals but this was the Croat's first victory and his tenth career title.
On the women's sideJelena Jankovic scored a 6-2, 6-4 victory over second seed Caroline Wozniacki in the women's final.
Ljubicic set up his fourth match point with the last of his 20 aces, then clinched it with a service winner to become the second-oldest champion at Indian Wells behind Jimmy Connors, who was five months older as the 1984 champion.
“It was really a mind game,” Ljubicic said. “When you have two big serves, not a lot of rallies happening, it’s a very mental match. I was fortunate enough to be more relaxed by the end.”
Roddick was trying to become the first American man to win at Indian Wells since 2001, but he trailed in both tiebreakers.
“I felt like I was winning my fair share of the rallies once we got into them,” he said. “I just ran into a guy who served great on the big points. Unfortunately that’s probably the one thing that I don’t have control over out there.”
For Ljubicic, his breakthrough in an ATP Masters 1000 final followed losses in 2006 to Roger Federer at Miami, and in 2005 to Tomas Berdych at Paris and Rafael Nadal at Madrid.
“Looking at my career, I did feel like I was missing it,” he said. “It’s really a fantastic feeling to finally have it. It gives something special to your career.”
There were no service breaks in the 2-hour final. Roddick served three love games in the second set, but had nothing to show for his effort.
Ljubicic won the first three points of the first tiebreaker. Roddick’s forehand error left him trailing 6-3. Ljubicic set up his winning forehand with a drop shot—a tactic that repeatedly worked against Roddick.
Ljubicic raced to a 6-2 lead in the second tiebreaker, but he double-faulted on his first match point. He challenged the call on Roddick’s service return, but the ball was on the line, leaving the American trailing 6-4. Roddick got to 6-5 with an ace before Ljubicic closed it out.
“He served great. The last two days were an exhibition on how to serve big points,” Roddick said. “I felt like I was getting aced or he was hitting a service winner every time I’d worked my way into a game.”
Surce Reuters/AP
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
