Ljubicic defeated Henman
Ivan Ljubicic, of Croatia, returns to seventh-seeded Britain’s Tim Henman (news) during their semifinal match in the Qatar Open tennis tournament in Doha, Qatar, Friday, Jan. 9, 2004. Ljubicic defeated Henman, 7-6, (7-2), 3-6, 7-6, (7-5). AP Photo/Shajahan)
Ljubicic Advances to Qatar Open Final
Fri Jan 9, 2:09 PM ET
DOHA, Qatar – Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia beat seventh-seeded Tim Henman 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (5) in a rain-delayed match Friday to reach the Qatar Open final.
Ljubicic will play French wild card Nicolas Escude for the title Saturday. Escude downed eighth-seeded Agustin Calleri of Argentina 6-2, 6-3 in the other semifinal.
Henman had not lost a set in Doha until dropping two tiebreakers. Ljubicic fired 11 aces in defeating the Englishman, who was aiming for his 10th straight win on the ATP Tour.
“I am probably playing my best tennis,” Ljubicic said. “It is a beautiful feeling to have qualified for my second ATP final.” Escude was playing in a tournament for the first time since July after a serious hip injury. “I am very happy that I wasn’t stretched by Agustin today,” he said. “I am glad that my match got over quickly.”
Op-ed: Ivan lost in the finals against Escude.
