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Ljubicic opens tournament defense with win

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Croatian Ivan Ljubicic hits a backhand during his first round match against Frenchman Arnaud Clement at the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on May 28, 2007. Ljubicic was leading the match 6-1, 4-4 when rain suspended play for the day. (UPI Photo/ David Silpa) 
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Published: Dec. 31, 2007 at 3:24 PM

DOHA, Qatar, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Defending champion Ivan Ljubicic collected a straight-set win Monday in the opening round of the Qatar Open.

Ljubicic, seeded fourth, swept out Stefan Koubek 6-4, 6-4 at Doha's Khalifa Tennis Complex to open his play in the Australian Open tuneup event. Ljubicic improved to 14-2 at the Qatar Open. He defeated Andy Murray in last year's final after finishing second in 2004 and 2005.

Sixth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber knocked out Oscar Hernandez 6-3, 6-1 and Thomas Johansson posted an upset with a 6-1, 6-0 rout of No. 7-seeded Igor Andreev.

Also notching victories Monday were: Fabrice Santoro, Michael Berrer, Filippo Volandri and Lee Hyung-taik Lee.

Topics: Andy Murray, Fabrice Santoro, Igor Andreev, Ivan Ljubicic, Lee Hyung, Oscar Hernandez, Thomas Johansson
© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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