Ljubicic wins at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS: Ivan Ljubicic beat Andy Roddick 7-6(3), 7-6(5) to win the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday, finally claiming his first ATP Masters 1000 title after three losses in finals.

The 31-year-old Croatian will rise to around 13th in Monday's ATP Tour rankings, returning to the top 20 for the first time in more than two years and recovering from a form slump last year when he lost in the first round in five consecutive tournaments.

“I had my problems, like everybody else,” he said.

All that was forgotten Sunday when he beat Roddick in a contest between big servers.

Second oldest

Ljubicic set up his fourth match point with the last of his 20 aces, then clinched it with a service winner to become the second-oldest champion at Indian Wells behind Jimmy Connors, who was five months older as the 1984 champion.

“It was really a mind game,” Ljubicic said. “When you have two big serves, not a lot of rallies happening, it's a very mental match. I was fortunate enough to be more relaxed by the end.”

Roddick was trying to become the first American man to win at Indian Wells since 2001, but he trailed in both tiebreakers. He had beaten Ljubicic seven times in 10 meetings, winning their last match at Indian Wells in two tiebreakers in 2007. “I felt like I was winning my fair share of the rallies once we got into them,” he said. “I just ran into a guy who served great on the big points. Unfortunately that's probably the one thing that I don't have control over out there.”

Easy for Jankovic

Jelena Jankovic had a much easier time in the women's final, defeating Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 for her first title in seven months.

The former top-ranked player from Serbia, dictated from the baseline throughout her 1-hour match, hitting the lines and keeping Wozniacki on the run.

Jankovic broke Wozniacki three times in the first set and again in the first game of the second set.

“I wanted to be really aggressive, but at the same time patient, and not really go for too much or go over the limit with some balls,” Jankovic said.

The results: Finals: Men: Ivan Ljubicic bt Andy Roddick 7-6(3), 7-6(5).

Women: Jelena Jankovic bt Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 . — AP