Hingis Ready for Aussie Open; Croatia One Win From Title
Posted on December 4, 2005
Croatia Wins Doubles for Davis Cup LeadCroatia is one win from their first Davis Cup title after Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic stepped up in partnering Ivan Ljubicic to a 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Slovaks Dominik Hrbaty and Michal Mertinak Saturday in Bratislava.
The win lifted the Croats to a 2-1 lead in the tie after Ljubicic defeated Karol Kucera and Ancic lost to Hrbaty on Friday.
"I think if the first set had gone the other way, maybe the whole match would have been different," said Hrbaty of the first-set tiebreak.
It was the seventh time in Davis Cup World Group history that a doubles team has gone undefeated over an entire year. Karol Beck and Mertinak were also undefeated on the season, with Beck scratched from the line-up with a knee injury.
Now Ljubicic can close out the tie in the first match Sunday against Hrbaty, with a win tying him with John McEnroe's Davis Cup record of 12 wins in one season.
"I think it's no question it's going to be the most important match of our lives, Dominik's and mine myself," Ljubicic said.
Hrbaty will counter Ljubicic's huge serving with one of the better return of serves on tour.
"I think my chances are pretty nice," Hrbaty said. "He is going to enter the match as a paper favorite, so he'll be under pressure. Of course, I'll do my best. I'll fight as far as I can. Hopefully we can turn the match around."
If Hrbaty can somehow subdue Ljubicic, the Croats will have a tough decision between the big-match choking Ancic or Goran Ivanisevic for the fifth and deciding match.
Courier v Haarhuis in Senior Masters Final
Comparable youngster Jim Courier continued his dominance over 46-year-old countryman John McEnroe Saturday, defeating his fellow American and former No. 1 6-4, 6-4 to move into the final at the senior year-end Masters in London.
The win puts Courier in position to defend his title from 2004.
In the fourth game of the opening set McEnroe hit what he though was an ace to bring things to 2-2, but Courier used the Hawk-Eye challenge for a closer look at the line call and was rewarded with an overturn, with Courier eventually going on to break McEnroe's serve.
"I sort of knew it was out, I wasn't assuming the game was mine," McEnroe said. "It's built up over the years that it's me against my opponent and the umpire but (Hawk-Eye) takes that out of the equation. There are no subjective calls, the ball is either in or out and that allows the humorous side of my personality to emerge, which I prefer rather than my angry side."
In the final Courier will face Dutchman Paul Haarhuis, who rolled Sergi Bruguera 6-1, 6-4 in the second semifinal.
Courier beat Haarhuis in all four of their tour meetings, last winning at Rome in 1993.
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Martina Hingis looks like a go for the Australian Open, where she has reached the final in her last six attempts, and is considering participating in a Hong Kong exhibition or the WTA Gold Coast tournament during the first week of 2006: "It's going to be great -- four more weeks to go probably 'til I play my first tournament," said the 25-year-old Swiss who is willing to risk more damage to her surgically-repaired feet. "With every job, you have to be willing to pay some kind of price. You have to be willing to play with pain to a certain level. The question is how much can you take...I don't think I would be happy to be running behind everybody to be No. 25. The first test will be if my body holds together. That question can only be answered with the tournaments I play. I can only train as hard as I can and put myself in the best position possible to compete with the best players and come back to the highest level I can with the top players. I play tennis, I do fitness. The whole day is pretty booked with that. Of course, you have to be in the best possible preparation to hold against (the power) and that's the goal. And if I can do so I'll be very happy with that. Also the finesse and the smart game...those were always my strengths. I still stick to my plan and had to work on my strength which brought me to No. 1. The game has changed in that it's gotten more physical, but not necessarily in a technical way and I can't allow myself to have any weaknesses. Hopefully, I can step in right away with winning a few games and matches...I've never played (Maria Sharapova). I want to see what she's got. Last time I played her she was 12 years old. I think was 17 and we practiced together and I won the championships right after that. She has a different game so it will be interesting...I have to take small steps, (and) slowly but surely (strive to) reach to the top. If you ask me who wins? You can't answer. Staying healthy and my feet staying in shape that's probably the biggest test."...Aussie Rennae Stubbs says Jelena Dokic has some making up to do before she is embraced by Australia: "She owes a lot of apologies to people and the Australian public is one of them, as well as her fellow Australian players that she left hanging."