TORONTO – The opening match of the Rogers Cup in Toronto had all the drama of a video game, with instant replay rule in tow and Ivan Ljubicic beating Nicolas Almagro in straight sets (7-5, 6-1).
The match also employed the new video challenge rule which allows for each player to challenge two on-court calls per set.
Almost immediately into the match, Ljubicic challenged one of his opponent’s serves in the second game of the first set and it was unsuccessful giving Almagro a deuce advantage.
After several spirited deuce points and rallies, it became obvious that the fourth seed in the tournament was just too strong.
Challenges still were the order of the day as Ljubicic launched another unsuccessful one later in the match, and Almagro averted match point, but still ended up losing.
At a post-game press conference, Ljubicic said that he wasn’t surprised that his opponent did not agree with the initial match point call.
“Well, this is one side of that, he has nothing to lose. He just called it. He was right,” he said. “If it was like 6 5 in the third, I would be concerned. 5 1, I think I had at that point the game I had the match in my hands.”
The Croatian admitted that he appreciated being able to respectfully disagree with the referee’s initial judgment.
“I think it’s good. Like sometimes important points, when you feel the umpire make the wrong call, you can challenge. I think it’s only positive,” he said.
The match was also highlighted by Ljubicic’s potent serve that almost seemed to resemble a quarterback in a football match with its unparalleled accuracy as well as his overzealous Croatian fans that could not sit still or keep quiet between serves.
After David Nalbandian’s shocking exit at the hands of qualifier Davide Sanguinetti (6-1, 6-2) Ljubicic remains the best shot to topple favourites Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“Well, it’s going to be very hard to catch them this year,” he said. “Depends how they do. Obviously in this particular moment, they are better than the others. But I think it cannot last forever.”
When asked if he was one of the contenders for beating the pair, Ljubicic said that the key was not to lose focus on the games leading up to potential Federer and Nadal match-ups.
“I mean, I wouldn’t be here if I think I cannot beat them,” he mused. “But I think if you focus only on those two guys, you will lose the ground against the other players. You have to be careful.”
Ljubicic will now face the winner of the Alberto Martin and Arnaud Clement match.
