Ljubicic to face Tsonga in final of Moselle Open
Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic fired 26 aces Saturday to edge Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) and reach the final of the Moselle Open.
Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic fired 26 aces Saturday to edge Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) and reach the final of the Moselle Open.
Ljubicic will face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-4, 6-4.
"It was always close," Ljubicic told French television. "I knew I had to be patient. I had no chance on his serve, he didn't have any chance on mine. It was about the tie-breaks and I was a little lucky today."
Muller set the tone by sending down four aces in the opening game. But Ljubicic quickly caught up and the 2005 champion rallied from 3-2 down in the tiebreaker to take the first set.
Though Muller finished the match with 18 aces, he could not handle Ljubicic's serve. He sent a backhand volley wide to give Ljubicic a match point which the fourth-seeded Croatian converted with an ace.
In the second semifinal, the top-seeded Tsonga broke serve at 5-4 in each set, clinching victory when Dolgopolov sent a forehand into the net.