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DOHA - Defending champion Ivan Ljubicic started his Qatar Open title defence on a winning note by defeating former champion Stefan Koubek 6-4 6-4 last night (NZT).
The fourth-seeded Croatian recorded three service breaks as he overcame his opponent in 73 minutes.
Ljubicic relied heavily on his big serves, but his back-hand returns also created problems for the Austrian who won the title in the Persian Gulf state in 2003.
"It is always good to win the first match of the season. It gives you a lot of confidence and it also helps you to assess your game," Ljubicic told reporters.
Earlier, Igor Andreev became the first seeded player to lost in the $1.5 million tournament.
The seventh-seeded Russian looked out of sorts on the Centre Court and surrendered meekly to Thomas Johansson of Sweden 6-1 6-0 in 45 minutes.
Johansson, a former Australian Open champion, won breaks in the fourth and sixth games of the first set to go 1-0 up in 24 minutes.
The Swede achieved breaks in the first, third and fifth games to win the second set 6-0.
France's Fabrice Santoro, the 2000 winner, was stretched to three sets by Italian Andreas Seppi before winning 6-4 1-6 6-2.
"It was a tough match. I started off slowly but found my rhythm only in the second set. He (Seppi) played well," said Santoro.
- REUTERS