|
 Roger
Federer
of
Switzerland
reacts
after
wining
a
point
against
Ivan
Ljubicic
of
Croatia
during
the
men's
singles
championship
of
the
Nasdaq-100
Open
tennis
tournament
Sunday,
April
2,
2006
in
Key
Biscayne,
Fla.
Federer
defeated
Ljubicic
7-6(5),
7-6(4),
7-6(6).
(02/04/2006)
The
world's
top-ranked
player,
Federer
defended
his
NASDAQ-100
Open
title
with
a
7-6
(7-5),
7-6
(7-4),
7-6
(8-6)
triumph
over
the
sixth
seed
from
Croatia.
Federer
improved
to
10-3
lifetime
against
Ljubicic,
whom
he
defeated
for
a
seventh
straight
meeting,
extending
his
winning
streak
on
American
soil
to
48
matches,
including
eight
tournament
titles..
Story:
"I
obviously
prefer,
you
know,
to
dominate
my
opponents
than
having
to
fight
for
it,"
Federer
said.
"But
as
long
as
I
keep
on
winning
in
the
end,
that's
what
I
really
care
about,
not
how
straightforward
it
was.
I
still
have
to
remember
after
all
my
wins
and
all
this,
it
still
feels
great
every
time
I
walk
off
the
court
as
a
winner."
The
Swiss
superstar
won
the
final
two
points
in
the
first-set
tiebreaker,
the
last
six
of
the
second
and
the
final
three
in
the
third.
Federer
saved
a
set
point
at
5-6
in
the
third-set
tiebreak
with
a
service
winner,
earned
a
match
point
with
another
and
claimed
the
title
when
his
backhand
service
return
clipped
the
top
of
the
net
and
trickled
over.
"I
guess
the
important
moments,
key
moments
of
the
match,
I
guess
I
was
just
superior
to
him,"
said
Federer,
who
won
three
tiebreaks
in
a
match
for
the
first
time.
"There
was
not
much
in
it."
Federer,
who
improved
to
12-1
in
tiebreaks
on
the
year,
apologized
for
the
manner
of
victory
as
he
approached
Ljubicic
at
the
net.
"I
think
it
was
just
the
bigger
points
he
played
better,"
Ljubicic
said.
"He
definitely
played
more
relaxed
and
more
confident
than
I
did.
On
6-5,
set
point
in
the
third
set,
he
comes
up
with
a
great,
great
serve.
Then
on
match
point
he
hit
the
net.
"I
mean,
in
those
moments,
it's
something
else
that
made
the
difference.
But
of
course
I
think
in
the
end
when
you
draw
the
line,
he
probably
played
a
little
better
than
me."
The
24-year-old
Federer
extended
his
record
winning
streak
in
ATP
Masters
Series
events
to
24.
He
has
won
his
last
nine
Masters
Series
finals.
Federer
also
improved
to
28-1
on
the
year,
while
Ljubicic
slipped
to
25-4.
Still,
Ljubicic
will
match
his
career-best
ranking
of
No.
5
on
Monday.
"Like
10
seconds
after
the
match,
you
are
mad
because
you
think
you
were
close,"
Ljubicic
said.
"But
then
a
week
after,
I'm
gonna
be
proud
the
way
I
played
and
the
fact
that
I
was
close.
But,
I
mean,
it's
still
a
loss,
of
course.
As
I
said,
it's
straight
sets,
so
it
definitely
feels
a
little
rough."
.
Ivan
Ljubicic,
of
Croatia,
reacts
after
losing
a
point
in
the
final
tie-breaker
against
Roger
Federer,
of
Switzerland,
during
the
men's
singles
championship
of
the
Nasdaq-100
Open
tennis
tournament
Sunday,
April
2,
2006,
in
Key
Biscayne,
Fla.
Federer
defeated
Ljubicic,
7(5)-6,
7(4)-6,
7(6)-6.
(02/04/2006)
Ljubicic
doubtful
for
Davis
Cup
quarter-final Croatia's
leading
player
and
captain
Ivan
Ljubicic
may
miss
the
first
day
of
the
Davis
Cup
quarter-final
against
Argentina
due
to
fatigue
and
abdominal
pain.
"At
the
moment
I
cannot
say
with
100
percent
certainty
that
I
will
play
on
Friday,"
Ljubicic,
who
lost
to
world
number
one
Roger
Federer
in
the
Nasdaq-100
Open
final
on
Sunday,
told
Vecernji
List
daily
on
Tuesday.
"What
is
certain
is
that
I
shall
not
be
at
my
best
and
there
is
a
chance
that
Mario
(Ancic)
gets
to
be
our
number
one.
But
I
will
make
a
final
decision
on
Thursday,"
the
world
number
five
said.
Croatia,
the
holders,
play
Argentina
in
Zagreb
on
April
7-9.
Argentina's
coach
Alberto
Mancini
told
reporters
on
arriving
in
Zagreb
that
only
David
Nalbandian
was
a
sure
starter
on
day
one.
"The
other
three
stand
equal
chances
of
playing
on
Friday,"
he
said.
Nalbandian
added:
"I
played
both
Ancic
and
Ljubicic
in
Miami
last
week.
I
easily
beat
Ancic,
while
Ljubicic
defeated
me
convincingly.
But
that
match
will
have
no
effect
on
this
weekend."
The
Croats
won
their
first
Davis
Cup
title
in
December
and
started
the
defense
of
the
title
in
February
with
a
3-2
victory
over
Austria
in
Graz.
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