METZ, France (AP) — Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic hit 26 aces on his way to a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) victory over Gilles Muller of Luxembourg on Saturday and a place in the final of the Moselle Open.
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.
Ljubicic will face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in the final Sunday.
