Ivan Ljubicic plays Germany's Michael Berrer for a place in the quarter-finals of the Zagreb Indoors.
2006 champion Ljubicic was lucky to avoid making an early exit on Monday, scraping past a determined Karol Beck 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3 in just over two hours.
The big Croatian smashed down 16 aces but it's tough to get into the return games on the fast indoor carpet of Zagreb and he didn't get his first break until the eighth game of the final set. That proved decisive in wrapping up the match.
"It's really nice to get a win. It wasn't easy," Ljubicic said afterwards. "I was playing against a player who can play great tennis, hit great shots, and that's exactly what happened today. I was serving well, which helped me hang in there all the way until the end. I played one good game where I managed to break him, and I escaped with a win."
"I really don't feel like the top seed. I really need to win a few more matches to feel comfortable on the court, so I hope that I can do that. If I get to the weekend, I'll be one of the contenders, but it's a long way away."
This is a very tricky second round match as Berrer is at his best indoors and made the Zagreb final last week. He got off to a good start, defeating Swiss qualifier Marco Chiudinelli 7-6(3), 6-1.
Prediction: Ljubicic in three.
