Head Interview with Ivan Ljubicic
Ivan Ljubicic talks about his career and why he chose to Monte Carlo as his last ever ATP Tour tournament.
Archive for: croatia
Ivan Ljubicic To Retire After Monte Carlo Masters (His Home Tournament)
Ivan Ljubicic, the big serving Croatian, has announced that he will be retiring after the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco. Ivan has won 10 title throughout his 14-years-career, most notably capturing the BNP Paribas Open crown in 2010.
Ivan is 32 years old and has two daughters and resides in Monte Carlo, so his local tournament will be his last.
Ivan.. after you have retired and had some time to off, drop us an email and you should come and write for us!
Gael Monfils – Point of the Year
I just came across this video of a point in the Davis Cup between France and Croatia. Is this the point of the year? Well it has to be close. Im sure all the French players will say it is!
Ivo Karlovic Hits the World Fastest Tennis Serve and Doesnt Even Notice
Ivo Karlovic has just set the world record for the fastest serve and none of the players even noticed. Karlovic dropped a 156 mph bomb which was nearly returned nicely.
The serve speed record is a big deal. It gives the 32-year-old Karlovic a spot in tennis history beyond his record-breaking height and the four titles he has already won.
Mario Ancic Retires from Tennis Due to Injury
Mario Ancic has just retired from professional tennis. Mario is only 26 and one of the most promising players I have ever seen play, but persistent illness and injury has been too much.
I remember watching Mario play in juniors and he was always a rising star. Mario has played some amazing matches and had some great results. Mario will retire from tennis to focus on a career in law.
“I can’t stand it anymore, I have finished my career,” Ancic said on Monday. “I’m forced to quit because nature has decided it’s time. My back can’t withstand the effort of professional tennis.”
Fellow Croat Ivan Ljubicic was devastated for his compatriot.
“It’s terrible. I mean that’s the worst way for a sportsman to finish the career,” said the 31-year-old after being forced to quit his first round-match in Dubai with injury.
“Fortunately he has a law degree. He’s already practising that. His life, it will go on,” added Ljubicic, who partnered Ancic to Olympic bronze in 2004.
“Together we achieved so much at such early stages of our careers. It was just incredibly unfortunate to kind of finish it that way.
“I saw him in Zagreb just a couple of weeks ago. We are in touch all the time. I didn’t bother asking him too much how he was, because I knew the answer. It was not good, not good for the last three years.”
Ancic used that time to complete his law degree at the University of Split – in the city of his birth – which he completed in 2008, with a thesis on the legal foundation and organisation of the ATP Tour.
Crowd Troubles at Croatia and Serbia Davis Cup Match
There was a bit of trouble this weekend at the Davis Cup match between Serbia and Croatia. Novak Djokovic and Ivan Ljubicic are great friends on tour and they werent expecting the crowd to react the way they did!
According to the AP,
Croatia’s fans booed and jeered and refused to stand when Serbia’s national anthem was played, and some chanted “Kill the Serb” and other abuse at Djokovic.
“We had expected the heated atmosphere before we came here, but I’m sorry that some fans behaved the way they did at the start of the match,” Djokovic said. “As the match progressed, things got a bit cooler probably because I was leading.”
Ljubicic, a good friend of Djokovic, said he was also annoyed by the chants from the crowd. “They affected my concentration just as they did his,” he said.
Croatia Has Lost Points and Received a Fine, But Still Defeat Brazil
Croatia was penalized points and fined an undisclosed amount for playing Davis Cup matches against Brazil on a court that was considered too fast.
Croatia will lose 2,000 points as part of the Davis Cup Committee’s ruling reached in Madrid on Sept. 23, the International Tennis Federation said Thursday. Croatia’s victory over Brazil will stand.
The head of Croatian Tennis Federation said she was “surprised and annoyed” by the decision.
“We will not accept the penalty,” said Marina Mihelic, the head of Croatian Tennis Federation.
Croatia returned to the elite World Group with a 4-1 playoff victory over Brazil in the Sept. 19-21 series on an indoor hard court at the new Sportski Centar Visnjik stadium at Zadar.
The ITF said Croatia violated the federation’s “court pace rating rule,” which assesses the speed of surfaces other than grass and clay. It’s the first such case involving the rule, which was implemented this year.
“There is a maximum and minimum pace that you are allowed to have,” ITF spokeswoman Barbara Travers said. “The Croatian court had a number that was just over the limit.”
Mihelic said the ITF checked the court three days before the matches started on Sept. 19 and concluded that the speed of surface was indeed above the maximum, but only minimally. Mihelic said she consulted ITF again and it suggested that the court surface didn’t need another layer because it would postpone the matches.
“It was never ever our intention to manipulate with the speed of the surface,” she told The Associated Press.
The ITF rejected Brazil’s appeal to have Croatia disqualified, the victory awarded to Brazil and financial compensation paid to Brazil.
The committee said the appeal was turned down because “the court was playable and the … Brazilian Federation did not appeal until well into the second day of the tie.” Brazil can still appeal the decision to the ITF’s board of directors.
