Mario Ancic

Croatia's Mario Ancic beat Britain's Greg Rusedski 11-9 in the Superset Tennis sudden-death shoot-out final to walk away with the £250,000 winner-takes-all prize at Wembley Arena tonight.

Ancic, aged 20 and ranked 20 in the world, and 31-year-old Rusedski traded serves for 20 games before Rusedski finally capitulated on the third set point.

Victory gave Ancic a world record reward for three sets of tennis.

The battle of the big servers went with serve for the first 19 games before Rusedski, after saving two match points, was beaten by a forehand down the line.

Ancic, the Wimbledon conqueror of Tim Henman, said: "It's been a great year in England for me and right now I'm speechless.

"It's my first tournament win, it isn't an ATP event but it was worth fighting for. I was just concentrating on serving."

Rusedski reflected: "I wish I'd lost in the first round because I wouldn't be feeling so bad now. But Mario served too well and good luck to him."

After beating American Robby Ginepri in the first round, Ancic was involved in a long semi-final when 45-year-old John McEnroe pushed him all the way.

The three-times Wimbledon champion had already handed Britain's latest prospect Andrew Murray a 24-minute masterclass, crushing the recent US Open boys' singles champion 6-1.

Then, revelling in the razzmatazz of sudden-death tennis, he stretched Ancic to 9-7 before finally coming to a double fault.

Both Ancic and Murray admitted they had never met anyone like McEnroe, with the young Croatian conceding: "He played unbelievable tennis. That's the best guy at serve and volley. For one set he is so tough.

"He picked up volleys and half-volleys and showed he is a true legend."

McEnroe revealed that he is ready to try and help Murray reach the top.

"He's the type of player I hope I will be involved with because I think he has the potential to be a good player," said the American.

"The whole idea is that I will be helping the LTA initiative by working with some kids and he's the obvious choice.

"At first the idea was I would be a figurehead but I want to get down in the trenches and hit with the kids," said McEnroe, who paid 17-year-old Murray respect by never easing up.

"You risk losing if you do something like that. I smothered him before he had a chance to get into it," added the veteran.

Superset Tennis was making its European debut and is set to return to London in the future.

Wimbledon it isn't, despite the All England championships' referee Alan Mills being in charge.

Rock music blaring, players marching on court in a fashion more suited to a boxing world title fight, court-side coaches giving advice and the latest hi-tech equipment giving players the chance to challenge controversial line calls were just a few of the innovations.

The use of Hawkeye to decide any line disputes was unanimously welcomed by the players, with McEnroe saying: "They are ahead of their time with that as it could be introduced on the tour in the next couple of years."

Source: sportinglife.com

What is Superset Tennis

Superset Tennis is an exciting, new, entertainment charged tennis format.

It's super-competitive. Eight top players battling it out in one set, sudden death, elimination contests for a winner takes all £250,000 - the largest per set prize money in tennis.

It's accessible. Where else can you see so many top players in a single day or one show?

It's played over two sessions, an afternoon and night. The first, features all eight top players in four head to head sudden death sets.

The winners progress to the final session.

Session two showcases the semi finals and the final. Three sets of pressure tennis, the tension building to the final point. It decides who takes home the £250,000 winner takes all prize. The champion is the only player to win three sets of tennis in the one day.

The Rules of Play

The basic rules and scoring of each game are unchanged.

A match is won when one player wins six or more games with a lead of two or more games. If one player reaches ten games without achieving a two game lead then a regular tiebreak will be played, to decide the winner of the set and match.

Superset Tennis uses new technology and an innovative format to create more entertaining tennis, build spectator involvement, help each player to play at their peak throughout each contest and monitor line calls.

Since every point counts and an incorrect call might make the difference between winning and losing £250,000, slow motion cameras and an independent video umpire can be called on by a player to overrule the chair umpire on any call.

These replays are screened on large LED screens to players, officials and spectators alike. The player is permitted to question any amount of line calls provided it is not seen as a tactic to slow down the game or to disturb the opponent. If it is seen by the umpire as a tactic, then a penalty system takes place.

Superset Tennis also allows the players' coaches courtside, supporting and discussing tactics for a 30 second period on each change of end.

Superset Tennis takes place on 03 October 2204. Mario has been drawn to play Robby Ginepri.

Sunday in Rijeka was just an exhibition day as Croatia had already booked themselves a place in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group on Saturday with a thrilling five setter in the doubles contest.

The dead rubbers went Belgium's way when Olivier Rochus beat Sasa Tuksar 46, 63, 63 whilst Mario Ancic retired with back pain at the beginning of the second set of his match, he was leading 76(4) 21, giving Gilles Elseneer the match.

"It was a wonderful weekend and a tough one. The first two days were perfect tennis against a very strong team. Belgium had chances but Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic played great when it mattered" said the Croatian captain Nikola Pilic after the tie.

Pilic will stay on as Croatian captain for at least one more year. Even though he was ready to step down in favour of retired Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic. Goran is, however happy to be remain as assistant to Pilic for the time being.

"One or two more years and that's it. If he does not want to take my place by 2007, I will personally take him by the hand, and make him do it" said Pilic.

The first two days saw some fine play from the Croatian half with wins in both the singles in straight sets whilst the doubles pairing of Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic excelled in in their encounter.

This is the fourth time in a row and the fifth time in total that Croatia have been in the World Group and Ivanisevic has been optimistic about the teams hopes from the start, "I said all along that this team has great potential. At home, we can beat the best. We showed we can beat the best. Away Croatia will always be tough. I know it may look strange to some but I feel this team with Ljubicic and Ancic can go all the way some day and win the Davis cup".

The Croatians will now be looking ahead to the draw for the 2005 competition with the Croatians hoping for a home tie and whilst the players favour Spain or Argentina for opposition, Pilic is more discrete "let's wait until Thursday".

The home advantage will mean a choice of surface and with the fast serving of Ancic, Ljubicic and Karlovic at the forefront of the Croatian game, a fast court would be expected.

"We like our chances no matter what. No matter where we play. We can play all surfaces, even clay" said Ljubicic who is already looking ahead.

Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic gave Croatia an unassailable 3-0 lead against Belgium in a thrilling doubles match that lasted just over four hours in Rijeka today.

Ancic and Ljubicic defeated Dick Norman and Kristof Vliegen 67(8) 64 67(1) 63 75 to reach the World Group for the fifth time. In a similar display to that demonstrated in the Olympics, the Croatians produced their best tennis when under pressure. Ancic and Ljubicic won a bronze medal in Athens after an epic encounter saw a 16-14 final set result against the Indian pair, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhuphathi.

Despite Ljubicic and Ancic not losing a service game for almost four hours, they had to fight for every point. A tie-break determined the outcome of the first set which Norman and Vliegen won. However, Ancic and Ljubicic battled back in the second set only to lose the third in another tie-break. The fourth set was more comfortable for the Croatians who gained a 3-0 lead and a 0-40 advantage.

"It was a great match, great match. Sad we lost, but it's the way it goes. Mario Ancic was the best player, he made the difference" said the Belgian captain, Steven Martens after the match.

In the fifth set, the Croatians managed to break Vliegen to go 4-3 up but the lead was short-lived when the Belgians broke back. Vliegen's serve was put under pressure once more in the set and the game to follow saw no repetition of the Belgian's earlier efforts. This time Ljubicic made no mistake when serving for the match and despite the Belgians saving two match points, Ljubicic and Ancic were able to clinch the third.

After the match, the Croatian team expressed their delight in re-entering the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group ; "It was tough, but we knew we had to be strong. Norman served great, but we played great in the fifth set. Fifth set was our best tennis".

Croatia took a commanding 2-0 lead against Belgium on the opening day of their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas, World Group Play-off tie in Rijeka.

Ivan Ljubicic won the opening match in three sets, defeating Gilles Elseneer 76(6) 75 64 in two hours and 40 minutes whilst Mario Ancic followed with a three setter against Belgian number one, Olivier Rochus, 63 76(2) 61; a match which saw the execution of 30 aces.

For Ancic, it was sweet revenge as he lost to Rochus in three sets, at the US Open, after which Ancic admitted that "he played great. Rochus gave me a lesson".

Ivan Ljubicic was very optimistic after he won the opening match, "not many people can beat Mario on this surface".

It was tough going for Rochus from the word go. He dropped serve to go down 2-0 at the beginning of the match and the second set looked to be going the same way at 4-2 until Ancic served up two double faults. With Rochus, executing two great backhand returns, he was able to claim his first and only break of the match.

This proved to be only a minor blip for Ancic who went onto serve out a great tie-break and cruise through the third set, dropping only one game.

Goran Ivanisevic, retired Wimbledon champion, now serving as an assistant to Davis Cup Captain, Niki Pilic was confident of the outcome. Shortly after the draw on Thursday, Goran offered little hope to the Belgians.

"You never know in tennis, but this is not going to be a shocking day for Croatia. We have a better team, Ivan and Mario are playing great, the surface is perfect, especially for Mario. Ivan and Mario will win. Croatia will win".

Ancic was very happy with his game. "I was not ready at the US Open, now it's much better. I worked on my serve, played more aggressive. This is a different surface, better for me. I knew Olivier will have more problems. I made life difficult dropping serve in the second set but came back strong to win the tie-break".

Olivier Rochus had no regrets. "Mario played fantastic. His serve was brilliant. Ancic was the dominant player. Our chances? You have to believe, but it's not more than one percent".

Captain Steven Martens did not agree, "every time you step on court there is a 50% chance of winning. It's not over yet".

Nikki Pilic is the first to agree on this. "Two zero has never won a Davis cup tie. But we like our chances".

The Croatian pairing of Ancic and Ljubicic, winners of the bronze medal in Athens will be looking to wrap up the tie on Saturday when they take on the Belgian pair of Kristof Vliegen and Dick Norman.

Saturday, September 18, 2004
Singles - Semifinal Round
R Mello (BRA) d (3) M Ancic (CRO) 76(2) 63
(1) V Spadea (USA) d J Salzenstein (USA) 61 63

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. - Third-seeded Mario Ancic beat Kenneth Carlsen 6-2, 7-5 Friday to reach the semifinals of the Millennium International Tennis Championships.

The 6-foot-5 Ancic displayed the powerful serve that propelled him to straight-set wins in his first two matches. He registered eight aces and won 86 percent of his first service points.

Carlsen tied the second set at 5-all, but Ancic won the next two games, breaking Carlsen's serve on his third match point attempt.

"In the second set, it was a very even match to the last point," said Ancic, who lost to Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon semifinals. "I'm happy to win and advance to the semis."

The 24th-ranked Ancic had lost in the first round in three consecutive tournaments after Wimbledon. He has never won an ATP Tour title.

Ancic's next opponent will be Ricardo Mello, who beat Jerome Golmard 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 on Friday to earn his first-ever ATP semifinals appearance.

Just as he had in a win over second-seeded Mardy Fish on Wednesday, the left-hander battled back from a first-set loss to earn the victory.

Mello advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open last month before losing to Tommy Haas.

"I'm in a very good moment in my career as a player," Mello said through a translator. "I'm taking good advantage of this moment, and this is increasing my confidence."

Source: yahoo.com

Monday, September 13, 2004

Singles - First Round
(3)M Ancic (CRO) d JM Gambill (USA) 63 64

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

Singles - Second Round
(3)M Ancic (CRO) d (Q)A Delic (USA) 61 63

Friday, September 17, 2004

Singles - Quarterfinal Round
(3) M Ancic (CRO) d K Carlsen (DEN) 62 75

Source: www.atptennis.com/delraybeach

Thanks to Liss, Mario Ancic Online Forum.

Order of Play: Monday, September 13, 2004

Stadium start 5:30 PM
(3)Garcia/Prieto vs (WC)Fish/Loglo
Not before 7:30 PM
J.M Gambill (USA) vs (3)M Ancic (CRO)
(4)X Malisse (BEL) vs G Rusedski (GBR)

Source: www.atptennis.com/delraybeach

Thanks to Liss, Mario Ancic Online Forum.

Superset Tennis
One Day One Court One Set
One Winner

Croatia's Mario Ancic, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon this year, has confirmed that he will replace Spaniard Rafael Nadal in London's Superset Tennis event on Sunday October 3rd at Wembley Arena.

Nadal, currently on the road to recovery, after spending almost three months out of the game due to a left foot injury, has had to withdraw from Superset due to unforseen personal reasons. However he is eagerly anticipating the next Superset event where he hopes to participate.

His replacement, Ancic, ruined British hopes at Wimbledon earlier this year beating Tim Henman in straight sets to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final. He will be looking to continue his recent run of form, which saw him win a doubles bronze medal last month in Athens, along with compatriot Ivan Ljubicic.

Joining 20-year-old Ancic at Wembley for the one day Superset spectacle are British Nos 1 & 2 Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, former Wimbledon Champions Boris Becker, John McEnroe and Goran Ivanisevic, along with Tommy Robredo and Robbie Ginepri.

The eight players will battle it out in a one day, one set, sudden death elimination contest to win the greatest per-set prize money in tennis history - £250,000 for the winner.

The tournament will be shown live on Sky Sports with highlights on BBC1's Grandstand.

For more information on the intense and exhilarating battle that will catapult the sport into the 21st century, visit http://www.superset.tv/.

Source: superset.tv

Thanks to Liss, Mario Ancic Online Forum.

In the men's singles Wimbledon semi-finalist Mario Ancic, the 27th seed, was beaten in straight sets by Belgium's Olivier Rochus.

US OPEN DRAW
First Round Mens Singles - Olivier Rochus v. Mario Ancic CRO

Long Island Cup Results.
D Tursunov (RUS) def. (6)M Ancic (CRO), 6-1, 6-4

Unseeded Croatians Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic won the Olympic Games men's tennis doubles bronze medal with a marathon victory against fifth-seeded Indians Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi.

Ancic and Ljubicic won 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 16-14 after almost four hours on court in a match which didn't finish until 0110 local time (1010 GMT) with the final set lasting 2hr 24min on Friday.

The result meant Paes, who won a singles bronze in Atlanta in 1996, was denied a chance to pick up a second Olympics medal.

The Indians had already seen off world No 1 Roger Federer and his Swiss teammate Yves Allegro, as well as world No 2 Andy Roddick and American partner Mardy Fish in previous rounds.

They have won the French Open and Wimbledon and reached the final of all four Grand Slams in 1999 and won their third Grand Slam tournament in 2001 at the French Open.

Germany's Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schuettler will take on Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu in the gold medal match.

Source: yahoo.com

18 August -
Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia, def. Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro (3), France, 4-6, 6-3, 9-7.

17 August -
Mario Ancic & Ivan Ljubicic (Cro)
beat (7)Martin Damm & Cyril Suk (Cze)
(2-1) Set breakdown: (7-6(8-6), 6-7(2-7), 7-5)

16 August -
Mario Ancic & Ivan Ljubicic (Cro)
beat Jonas Bjorkman & Joachim Johansson (Swe)
(0-0)

Mario has been drawn against Tommy Hass in the first round. He will play on Court 2 tonight (15th) starting after 17:00.

Source: itftennis.com

Mario Ancic has withdrawn from the Mercedes-Benz Cup

Andy Roddick reached his first Wimbledon final after a 6-4 4-6 7-5 7-5 victory over Mario Ancic of Croatia.
The second seeded American had been up a set but was facing break point when the match was stopped on Friday night after a rain-disrupted day.

Ancic returned to win it and the second set and looked in control in the third when there was another stoppage.

But Roddick claimed the crucial break and, after another tight fourth set, went ahead 6-5 and served out to win.

"He was making it tough in the last game so there's a lot of relief," said the 21-year-old.

"He came out firing today but later I was able to make some adjustments and made it through."

And, looking forward to the final against Roger Federer, he added: "I'm so excited. He's the best and I can't wait."

It was always tipped as a battle of serves and lived up to its billing early on.

Ancic won the opening game with his first ace and although Roddick made two double faults in his first service game, he won to love by his third and warmed up to a 143mph rocket in his next.

And it was Roddick who made the first breakthrough, sending a backhand past Ancic at the net to go 5-4 up.

He saved two break back points in the next game before clinching the set, after 34 minutes, with another superb pass.

Roddick made the breakthrough again in the fifth game of the second set but was facing break point himself when the match was stopped on Friday night even though it was not actually raining at that point.

Ancic returned on Saturday to win a lengthy rally to break back and took the set 6-4 as Roddick looked distracted.

Indeed the American was forced to save five break points early in the second but gradually found his rhythm

And Ancic was annoyed when play was stopped again with just a few spots of rain in the air.

Rightly so, because Roddick came out on fire, broke the Croatian and served to love to take a 2-1 lead.

A tight fourth set went with serve before Roddick had to save a break point at 3-4 with an ace.

Ancic double faulted to hand the second seed a 6-5 lead and, although he needed three match points, Roddick served out for victory.

The 20-year-old Croat refused to blame the rain delays for his defeat, saying: "Obviously the first delay helped me a lot - I broke him straight away.

"I don't know why there was a second rain delay because all the other courts were playing. But it doesn't really matter - it didn't really affect me too much."

Ancic said that Roddick had just outplayed him on the key points.

"It was a pretty big match and it came down to three or four balls," he added. "I have to congratulate him - he played better."

Source: bbc.co.uk

Tim Henman's Wimbledon campaign came to an end with a shock defeat to unseeded Mario Ancic in the quarter-finals.

The 20-year-old Croat came through 7-6 6-4 6-2 in two hours 12 minutes.

Ancic took a desperately tight first set in the tie-break, and had Henman in real trouble as he took the second with successive breaks.

Henman managed a break of his own but it was not enough as an inspired Ancic silenced the Centre Court crowd with two more breaks in the third.

Henman admitted afterwards that the defeat was a "massive disappointment".

"I think the first set was very important for both of us, there weren't too many chances," said Henman.

"After he was able to win the tie-break he gained confidence and his level got a little bit better.

"In the second and third sets my level went down and there's no question the better player won on the day."

It was the Briton who appeared to have the upper hand in the early stages of the match, and Ancic needed an ace to hold serve in the fifth game.

The first warning sign for Henman came in the 12th game when, from out of nowhere, the Croat found his range on the return and forced a break point of his own.

A wild Ancic forehand saved the Briton, but in the ensuing tie-break Henman fell 6-3 behind and eventually succumbed with a wayward forehand return.

With the crowd increasingly unsettled Henman appeared to lose confidence and a double-fault gave Ancic another break to go 3-2 up in the second set.

That appeared to jolt Henman into action and he immediately broke back, but any thoughts of a revival disappeared when he then dropped serve again to love.

Ancic needed no more encouragement and managed to keep the home crowd quiet with increasingly confident serve-volleying on his way to a two-set lead.

And there was more to come as the Croat began to completely dominate Henman's serve, claiming two breaks in the third set with a succession of return winners.

Henman had no answer to the 20-year-old's domination and the rain came too late to save him as Ancic wrapped up the match with a big serve.

"I played a really good match," Ancic told BBC Sport.

"The first set was really tough, he was serving at a high percentage and I was a little bit lucky to get through the tie-break.

"In the second set I gained a little bit of confidence on my serve.

"I was a little nervous but that's normal and from there I played really well and kept everything under control."

Source: bbc.co.uk

Xavier Malisse's hopes of making it to a second Wimbledon semi-final were shattered after the Belgian retired injured against Mario Ancic on Court 3 today.

Malisse, trailing 5-7, 1-3, 0-40 raised his racket to indicate to his opponent and the umpire that he could not carry on - much to the disappointment of the packed stand.

It was obvious something was wrong with Malisse from the moment he stepped on court. While Ancic was in good shape, Malisse's game lacked the consistency displayed in his last two matches against Karol Beck and Tommy Haas and he was soon a set down.

When trainer Bill Norris was called to treat the 23-year-old for a lower back injury, a stunned silence fell across the crowd. After much stretching and rubbing of cream, Malisse took to the court once again but it did not help and a catalogue of errors ensued.

According to Malisse, the left lower back problem has bothered him on and off for about a year, but began rearing its head again at the French Open. In particular it affects his serves and smashes. "It's tough. It doesn't get any better when I'm playing and I'm doing a lot of exercises. And it's tough if you have to play a lot of matches," he said.

His Croat opponent now finds himself in the quarter-finals, and is certainly one to watch. He has beaten two seeds - Dominik Hrbaty and Luis Horna - to get to this stage. On his Grand Slam debut as a qualifier at The 2002 Championships he upset No.7 seed Roger Federer on Centre Court, so he is rightly quietly confident. Speaking about his tennis he said: "I think it's just getting better from match to match. That's nice."

He will be a dangerous rival for either Tim Henman or Mark Philippoussis in the next round.

Source: wimbledon.org