Ljubicic Sinks Nalbandian with 30 Aces
© Getty Images By Bill Scott
Defending champion David Nalbandian of Argentina and Ivan Ljubicic struggled into Wednesday morning before the Croatian profitted from a late break to produce a 5-7, 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 win.
Ivan Ljubicic's 30 aces in his three-set win was the most in a Tennis Masters Cup match since 1996
when countryman Goran Ivanisevic fired 35 aces in his 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 loss to Pete
Sampras in the ATP World Championships semifinals.
The drama was nonstop, with Nalbandian suffering his second Red group loss in as many matches. He failed to serve out a straight-sets victory at 5-4 in the second set.
Ljubicic, who underwent a blood test on Monday after fighting a virus in recent weeks, was given the all-clear by doctors. The Croatian tested himself to the limit in two hours, 48 minutes.
In addition to this 30 aces, Ljubicic also fired 61 winners and struck 44 unforced errors while breaking Nalbandian three times.
Nalbandian was unable to bounce back from a defeat against Roger Federer in his opening round-robin match in China.
Ljubicic won his 60th match of the season as he played in the Tennis Masters Cup for the second year.
The 27-year-old with three titles in 2006 was unable to compete in the last two weeks of the regular ATP season due to his illness and the fatigue of a long season.
The Red group has yet to be settled with the mathematics still giving all four players in the group a chance to reach the semifinals.
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