AN ATP MASTERS SERIES EVENT
11th - 19th OCTOBER
ATP News : 2005
Ljubicic Ends Moya's Chennai Open Reign
Top seed Ivan Ljubicic saved one match point in his rain-delayed semifinal and won two matches in a day to capture the Chennai Open title, ending Carlos Moya's hopes of a third consecutive crown in India
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Ivan Ljubicic, who received a wild card into the tournament, came within a point of losing his semifinal against Belgian Kristof Vliegen on Sunday before winning 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6) to reach the final. He then returned later in the afternoon to record a 7-6(6), 6-2 victory against Moya, the Spaniard who was looking for a third straight Chennai Open title. Ljubicic, who began the year at No. 9 in the INDESIT ATP Rankings after winning two titles from eight finals in 2005, had planned to spend the first week of the season practicing in Monte-Carlo before receiving an invitation to play in Chennai three weeks ago. En route to the final, Ljubicic defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Jiri Vanek, Gilles Muller and Vliegen, while Moya, the No. 3 seed, won four consecutive three-set matches against Dick Norman, Justin Gimelstob, Bjorn Phau and No. 2 seed Radek Stepanek. |