http://www.atptennis.com/en/newsandscores/news/2004/doha_saturday.asp
Escude Claims Titles, Now Leads ATP Champions Race
Nicolas Escude won his fourth career ATP title in his sixth final by
defeating Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 7-6(4). He was playing in his first tournament
since Wimbledon 2003 where he had to retire with a hip injury, which
sidelined the Frenchman for six months.
Escude maintained his perfect record against Ljubicic in their third
encounter, never having dropped a set during his victories over the Croat.
En route to the final in Doha Escude had defeated No. 6 seed Younes El
Aynaoui, Ivo Heuberger, Hyung-Taik Lee and No. 8 seed Agustin Calleri.
Escude didn’t lose a set all week and didn’t lose his serve once in the
final, which lasted one hour and 34 minutes. At 2-3 in the first set Escude
won five successive games, including breaking Ljubicic’s serve twice, to
clinch the first set 6-3 in 31 minutes and take a 1-0 lead in the second
set. Both players held serve in the second set lasting one hour and two
minutes. At 3-3 in the tie-break Escude took the command and won four out
of the last five points of the match, converting his first match point.
Escude, who received a wild card to the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, is
the first leader of the ATP Champions Race 2004 by earning 50 points.
Ljubicic played in his second career ATP final and was looking for his
second ATP title. The Croat earned 35 ATP Champions Race points for reaching
the final.
Ljubicic had scored victories over No. 5 seed Nicolas Massu, Robin Soderling,
No. 4 seed Sebastien Grosjean and No. 7 seed Tim Henman before losing to
Escude in the final.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Escude: “I’m winning a tournament after haven’t played for six months,
since Wimbledon, it’s a crazy thing. I was a little bit nervous in the
beginning of the first set.”
“It’s a perfect week winning without losing any set. I arrived here one
week before the tournament started and played very well in practice. I have
a lot of confidence for the Australian Open.”
Ljubicic: “It was a fantastic week, I can’t be disappointed. I can only
be happy with the way I played today and this week. I’m not disappointed
to lose this match even though I would have preferred to win. A few points
here and there decided the match.”
“It’s my second career final and the second best week of my career. I’ll
come back and try to win this beautiful trophy.”
About a possible comeback from Goran Ivanisevic
“He is not going to come back just to come back. He is going to come back
to do well. I think he is close to coming back.”
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