MIAMI, March 25: Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic reached the second round of the Nasdaq-100 Open with a 6-4 5-7 7-6 win over Frenchman Nicolas Escude on Wednesday.
Ivanisevic, who has been troubled by shoulder and foot injuries since winning Wimbledon in 2001, needed a wildcard to gain entry to the Masters Series event. The 32-year-old is number 592 on the ATP Entry Rankings.
"I played good. I practised hard for the last six days so I thought I'd probably have a good match," Ivanisevic told reporters. "I didn't expect to win to be honest."
The Croatian announced his intentions early by breaking in Escude's opening service game and went on to wrap up the first set in 33 minutes, coping better with the windy conditions.
Ivanisevic broke again at the start of the second set and appeared to be cruising until his rustiness showed as he served for the match at 5-4. When the shaven-headed Frenchman broke twice to force a third set all looked lost for Ivanisevic. But he regained his composure before a winning forehand clinched the match in the tiebreak.
Ivanisevic, who next plays Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal, lost in the first round at his last two events in Rotterdam and Marseille. He played only five matches in 2003, winning one of them.
The Croatian was forced to withdraw here last year without hitting a ball after he stepped on a sea shell on Miami Beach and badly injured his foot. "It's the sort of thing that happens only to me," said Ivanisevic. "There was probably only one shell on the whole beach and I found it.
"I'm staying away from the beach from now on. These things always happen in Miami. Every time I come here I have funny injuries." Ivanisevic's fellow countryman Ivan Ljubicic beat Italy's Davide Sanguinetti 6-1 6-3 but another Croatian, Ivo Karlovic, lost 6-4 6-4 to Austrian Jurgen Melzer.
American Todd Martin put in a typically dogged performance to outlast Swiss Ivo Heuberger 3-6 6-4 6-2 in a match halted three times by persistent drizzle. Sweden's Thomas Enqvist and Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador were stopped in their tracks when the Crandon Park Tennis Centre suffered a major power failure.
Lapentti was leading Enqvist 7-5 1-3 in the last match of the day when, at 2315 local time, the lights went out. In the women's draw, Czech Klara Koukalova set up a second-round clash with fourth seed Jennifer Capriati by beating American Alexandra Stevenson 5-7 7-5 6-0.
Stevenson, who was given a wildcard into the tournament, led the match by a set and a break before the determined Czech clawed her way back. There was also disappointment for another American, Ashley Harkleroad, who had to retire with a painful blister on her right hand against fellow countrywoman Jill Craybas. Craybas was leading 6-2 3-0 when Harkleroad pulled out.
First round results:
Men: Nicolas Lapentti (Ecuador) leads Thomas Enqvist (Sweden) 7-5 1-3 (play suspended due to power failure); Nicolas Kiefer (Germany) bt Igor Andreev (Russia) 6-4 6-3; Andrei Pavel (Romania) bt Dimitry Tursunov (Russia) 6-2 7-6 (7-4); Todd Martin (U.S.) bt Ivo Heuberger (Switzerland) 3-6 6-4 6-2; Julien Benneteau (France) bt Jeff Morrison (U.S.) 6-3 2-6 7-5; Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) bt Davide Sanguinetti (Italy) 6-1 6-3; Wayne Ferreira (South Africa) bt Raemon Sluiter (Netherlands) 6-3 6-1; Stefan Koubek (Austria) bt Alberto Martin (Spain) 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-0; Goran Ivanisevic (Croatia) bt Nicolas Escude (France) 6-4 5-7 7-6 (9-7); Robby Ginepri (U.S.) bt Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (Spain) 6-2 6-2; Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) bt Thomas Johansson (Sweden) 6-2 2-6 6-3; Karol Kucera (Slovakia) bt Alex Bogomolov (U.S.) 0-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4; Thierry Ascione (France) bt Hicham Arazi (Morocco) 7-5 6-4; Jurgen Melzer (Austria) bt Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) 6-4 6-4; Robin Soderling (Sweden) bt David Ferrer (Spain) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4
