Ivan Ljubicic salvaged the opening day of Croatia's Davis Cup semi-final against Russia on Friday, winning a pulsating five-set duel with Mikhail Youzhny to leave the tie balanced on a knife edge.
Ljubicic squared it up at 1-1 with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory after local favourite Mario Ancic had been outplayed 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 by an inspired Nikolay Davydenko in the opener.
As chants of 'Lubo Lubo' rang around Split's atmospheric Gripe Sports Hall, the shaven-headed 26-year-old kept his nerve to clinch victory in three hours two minutes.
"I feel special when I play Davis Cup," said Ljubicic who served 34 aces in his 17th Davis Cup singles victory.
"I was not panicking when I lost the first set, I just carried on with my strategy which was to be aggressive."
Croatia coach Niki Pilic, who has won the Davis Cup three times as captain of Germany, said he was satisfied with 1-1.
"I said before the tie it was going to be very close, and that's how it is," he said. "I just feel sorry for Ancic as he didn't have much luck."
POOR START
Croatia, aiming to reach their first Davis Cup final, had a poor start against the 2002 champions when Ancic made little impression against world number seven Davydenko.
"I played a pretty solid match, there was nothing more I could do in the first two sets," said the 21-year-old after his three hour 30 minute defeat. "He was passing me and lobbing me all over the court."
The indoor surface was expected to favour the big-serving Ancic but it was Davydenko, a French Open semi-finalist this year, who dominated the opening two sets.
Davydenko's only wobble came when he served for the match at 5-4 in the third set, suddenly going off the boil to allow Ancic a lifeline.
"I played perfect for the first two sets," said the 24-year-old, who prepared for the tie by fishing in the Adriatic. "But I lost my concentration (at 5-4) and he played well to win the set.
"The crowd were loud at that moment, and again when I served for the match in the fourth."
"The court was not too quick and there were hardly any mistakes from the line judges," he added, referring to his pre-match concerns on both fronts.
Ancic had Davydenko in trouble when the Russian was serving at 4-5, 0-30 in the first set, pinning his opponent into the corner with a low volley only to watch helpless as Davydenko whipped a sublime topspin lob over his head.
The Russian broke in the next game for the first time, then served out the set to love.
ANCIC FRUSTRATED
Ancic's frustration boiled over in the second set and he demolished his racket after a double fault before a flashing Davydenko winner cost him his serve at 3-3.
With Croatian great Goran Ivanisevic offering his support, Ancic clung on grimly in the third set and pounced when Davydenko wavered.
But the Russian steadied himself in the fourth set, breaking serve in the fifth game courtesy of an Ancic double fault and then fending off danger on his own serve in the next game.
Ancic had a glimmer of hope when Davydenko served for the match at 5-4 but the Russian reeled off four straight points from 0-30 to silence the crowd.
Ljubicic recovered from a ragged start to take charge against Youzhny, only to find himself dragged into a tension-filled fifth set.
After being denied a break of serve at 1-1, when a Youzhny serve was not called out, Ljubicic did forge ahead at 2-2 when the Russian missed a forehand.
Ljubicic banged down four consecutive aces in the next game before delivering what could be a crucial point for the hosts.
Youzhny, who needed treatment on his back, said he is a doubt for Saturday's doubles when he is scheduled to partner Dmitry Tursunov against Ancic and Ljubicic.
