There were some interesting exchanges between players a few days ago.
The “row” started after recently retired Croat Ivan Ljubicic posted the following Tweet.
“Wonder how our tour would look if European players were skipping American tourneys the way Americans are skipping European Tournaments”
This understandly provoked responses from American’s including Mardy Fish who has missed the two clay Masters due to an undisclosed illness.
“Some of us aren’t skipping tournaments bc we want to do ur homework before u make dumb generalized comments,”
John Isner & Andy Roddick spoke out in defense of their countryman with their own Tweets
Roddick
“I know for a fact that @mardyfish is going through some serious physical issues right now. … Irresponsible tweet by @ivanljubicic1. … also I definitely always respect the choices of ATP tour veterans because I know all of us do what’s in the best interest of our health and our careers. … I expect the same in return “
Isner
“Pretty sure Mardy Fish is sick,”
A short while after Ljubicic posted another comment to help diffuse the row.
“My tweet regarding american &european players was to open the discussion rather than offend somebody. But I see some people got offended. And I am sorry for that. Wasn’t the plan. And I definitely wish @MardyFish fast recovery!!!”
Hopefully players will think before hitting the “Tweet” button.
The end of former world No.3 Ivan Ljubicic’s career is over. After losing to fellow Croat Ivan Dodig, the 33-year old broke down into tears. “I felt like it could end up emotional, but I didn’t expect it this big, this emotional,” he told reporters. “Obviously, it’s the end of something beautiful for me. I knew my mind was everywhere else but on the tennis court.”
During his tennis career, Ljubicic served as the Vice President and President on the ATP Player Council, and his best result in any singles Grand Slam was a semifinal run in the 2006 French Open.
“Really to feel also now walking into the locker room, all the guys standing and clapping, it’s something beautiful to see how guys respected me and the way I represented them for many, many years.”
Good luck in the future, Ivan, and may you be happy without your favorite sport!
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!
Rafael Nadal is playing some great tennis when it matters. Nadal swept aside Ivan Ljubicic in straight sets 7-5 6-3 6-3. Additionally, Robin Soderling performed very well today and knocked out Gilles Simon in straight sets 6-2 6-3 7-6. That now setups a Soderling and Nadal quarterfinal! Im really looking forward to seeing if Soderling can knock out Nadal yet again.
In the other two match Juan Ignacio Chela defeated Alejandro Falla 4-6 6-2 1-6 7-6 6-2, while Gael Monfils defeated David Ferrer 6-4 2-6 7-5 1-6 8-6.
Womens Singles:
Sharapova seems to be continuing her run with a 7-6 7-5 win over Agnieszka Radwanska. There were other strong results from Victoria Azarenka, Andrea Petkovic and Na Li.
Its amazing to see Na Li performing amazingly well after a layoff from tennis.
There were some very interesting results today. Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray easily won through into the fourth, although Murray did twist his ankle mid way through the match but was able to close it out. Gilles Simon continued his impressive run with a strong win over Mardy Fish. I tipped Simon to be a very strong contender this year and he is living up to the hype.
Novak Djokovic continued his winning streak with a four set win over Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro is heading back from injury so expect better results from him later in the year.
The upset of the day belonged to Ivan Ljubicic who defeated Fernando Verdasco (16) 6-3 7-6 6-4.
Womens Singles:
In the womens side of the draw it was a bit boring today. All the top seeds pushed through, except Kaia Kanepi (16) who lost to Ekaterina Marakova in straight sets 6-4 7-5.
A lot happened today in the mens singles. First of all in the key matches with the top players both Nadal, Soderling and Murray advanced quite easily. However, there were a few upsets! Marcos Baghdatis (27) was defeated by Leonardo Mayer in straight sets, Florian Mayer was defeated by Alejandro Falla in four sets, Nikolay Davydenko (28) was defeated by Antonio Veic in a tuogh five set match, and Sam Querrey (24) was defeated by Ivan Ljubicic in straight sets.
The dark horse seems to be Lukasz Kubot who progressed again with a straight sets win over Carlos Berlocq. Kubot has come through some tough matches in qualifying and has already taken out Nicolas Almagro (11) and Carlos Berlocq in the main draw, with both of these players being clay court specialists.
Womens Singles:
Match of the day for me was Maria Sharapova (7) against young French lady Caroline Garcia. Garia was playing some amazing tennis and was making Sharapova look like your average hacker. Garcia was up 6-3 4-1, but then she seemed to remember that she was playing on center court at the French Open against Maria Sharapova. After that she didnt win another game and Sharapova won 3-6 6-4 6-0.
Apart from that all seeds that played today pushed into the next round, apart from Alexandra Dulgheru (27) who lost to Sorana Cirstea 6-2 7-5.
Mens Doubles:
Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimoniic (4) played some great tennis today and defeated Igor Kunitsyn and Ivan Ljubicic. Watch out for these guys in the tournament!
Womens Doubles:
Casey Dellacqua and Rennae Stubbs are an unseeded team to watch in the womens doubles. They just defeated Kimiko Date-Krumm and Shuai Zhang 6-1 7-6.
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!
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.
Indian Wells champion Ivan Ljubicic was the focus of a recent ATP Uncovered feature.
I still find it funny that Ivan has about 4 of his own staff, who travel with him all year round. How can Ivan afford all those staff and the traveling costs? Shows again how there really isn’t too much money in tennis.
