Croat Ivan Ljubicic ensured that his first appearance in 's-Hertogenbosch since 2000 would not be short-lived as he defeated Gael Monfils 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Monday at the Ordina Open.
The second-seeded Ljubicic faced down 17 aces from the young Frenchman, and finished the match with a flourish as he held Monfils to nine points in the third set. It marked Ljubicic's first victory in 's-Hertogenbosch; seven years ago, he lost to Francisco Clavet in his opener.
Ljubicic was a victim of Nicolas Mahut's impressive run at the Queen's Club last week in the 2007 ATP grass season opener, falling to the Frenchman in the third round. Mahut followed by taking out World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and also held championship point against Andy Roddick.
The Croat will next face Italian Andreas Seppi, who advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Austrian Alexander Peya. Seppi defeated Ljubicic in their only previous head-to-head encounter, in 2005 at Gstaad.
Qualifiers prevailed in the two matches that featured the Dutch against the French: Dutchman Peter Wessels defeated Nicolas Devilder 6-4, 6-3, while Frenchman Antony Dupuis topped 18-year-old Thiemo De Bakker 7-5, 7-6(1).
Belgian Kristof Vliegen also moved through to the second round after Frenchman Fabrice Santoro retired down 6-3, 1-1 with an upset stomach. Vliegen awaits the winner between top seed Tommy Robredo and Dutch qualifier Michel Koning.
The second-seeded Ljubicic faced down 17 aces from the young Frenchman, and finished the match with a flourish as he held Monfils to nine points in the third set. It marked Ljubicic's first victory in 's-Hertogenbosch; seven years ago, he lost to Francisco Clavet in his opener.
Ljubicic was a victim of Nicolas Mahut's impressive run at the Queen's Club last week in the 2007 ATP grass season opener, falling to the Frenchman in the third round. Mahut followed by taking out World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and also held championship point against Andy Roddick.
The Croat will next face Italian Andreas Seppi, who advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Austrian Alexander Peya. Seppi defeated Ljubicic in their only previous head-to-head encounter, in 2005 at Gstaad.
Qualifiers prevailed in the two matches that featured the Dutch against the French: Dutchman Peter Wessels defeated Nicolas Devilder 6-4, 6-3, while Frenchman Antony Dupuis topped 18-year-old Thiemo De Bakker 7-5, 7-6(1).
Belgian Kristof Vliegen also moved through to the second round after Frenchman Fabrice Santoro retired down 6-3, 1-1 with an upset stomach. Vliegen awaits the winner between top seed Tommy Robredo and Dutch qualifier Michel Koning.
- Copyright © ATP Tour, Inc. 2007
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