PETE ZIEBRON
INDIAN WELLS, CA
Ivan Ljubicic practicing serves prior to his round of 16 match with Novak Djokovic.
Ivan Ljubicic, two days shy of his 31st birthday, defeated world number 2 Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-3 under a hot 90F desert sun at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells yesterday. Ljubicic rallied from a break down early in the first set to break Djokovic twice to take the opening set. Once an early break was secured in the second set, Ljubicic steadied himself and served out the match.
Despite being ranked second in the world, Novak Djokovic’s round of 16 match with Ivan Ljubicic was not among the four men’s matches that were played on the main Stadium Court and was played concurrent to the Rafael Nadal v. John Isner match on Stadium Court. Instead, the Djokovic-Ljubicic tilt was relegated to Stadium Court #2, as the second match of the day following Juan Monaco and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and provided tennis aficionados the rare opportunity to see the world number 2 on a considerably smaller court.
Prior to the opening match on Court #2, Ljubicic practiced to get a feel for the court and more importantly get a read on the conditions. This move would pay dividends for Ljubicic a few hours later when he met Djokovic and booked his place in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Ljubicic also did some advanced scouting as he appeared in the stands as a spectator, sitting directly across the court from me, and ate lunch during the majority of the second set of the Monaco v. Garcia Lopez match. Obviously, Ljubicic liked his chances against Djokovic, especially since the Djoker has had recent issues with his ball toss and historically does not seem to perform well when playing in the heat. Last year at Indian Wells, Djokovic struggled with even higher temperatures in his round of 16 match with Stanislaus Wawrinka that started in the blazing, late afternoon sun and concluded with considerably cooler conditions after the sun went down. Djokovic’s entire demeanor changed once Stadium Court became completely shaded and he was able to squeak out a challenging tussle with Wawrinka to advance. Yesterday, Djokovic did not have the luxury of a setting sun during his match.
Ljubicic will face
Juan Monaco for a place in the 2010 BNP Paribas Open semifinals later
today. The winner will play the
winner of the Rafael Nadal – Tomas Berdych quarterfinal on Saturday.
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