Points won by each set: | 33-38, 46-36, 40-35 |
Points won directly behind the serve:
35 % Federer – 34 of 97
35 % Ljubicic – 46 of 131
Federer along with Ljubicic as his coach, won quite unexpectedly the Australian Open ’17. Twelve years earlier they played three ATP finals against each other within just two months, and the Swiss won them all. Rotterdam came second, following a one-sided meeting in Doha.
All Ljubicic’s [19] break points were witnessed in the opener. From the beginning of the 2nd set to the end, Federer [1] was perfect on his serve, he didn’t need to play ‘deuce’ in his twelve service games. Ljubicic’s serve was great too, but he lost it once in the 2nd set (he had won three games in that set saving break points). In the deciding tie-break, the Croat led *4:2, but dropped four points quickly, it looked a bit like he didn’t care too much. On Federer’s second match point Ljubicic sent his forehand long. They co-created Head-to-Head which includes a rarity: three matches with deciding tie-breaks #
Federer’s route to his 24th title:
1 Bohdan Ulihrach 6-3, 6-4
2 Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-4
Q Nikolay Davydenko 7-5, 7-5
S Mario Ancic 7-5, 6-3
W Ivan Ljubicic 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5)