INDIAN WELLS, California-- Big-serving Croat Ivan Ljubicic earned himself an early birthday present by powering past Argentina's Juan Monaco 4-6 6-2 6-1 into the semi-finals of the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Thursday.
The former world number three, who turns 31 on Friday, unleashed 11 aces and 39 winners to wrap up victory in one hour, 47 minutes on the stadium court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
On a hot afternoon in the California desert, Ljubicic sealed the win by firing down a first serve at 138 mph that Monaco was unable to return, prompting the Croat to leap into the air and thrust his right arm skywards in celebration.
"It's a great win and a great present to have a day off just before the semi-finals," Ljubicic told reporters after reaching the last four in an ATP Tour event for the first time since his victory in Lyon in October.
"I got a phone call from my brother just after match. He said that in the Croatian time zone, I finish just a couple seconds before my birthday, so it's fantastic," he added with a broad grin.
"I played some great tennis and I felt really creative out there. Lobs, drop shots, volleys, winners, slices -- I felt I could hit the ball anywhere, you know.
"It's good to again be at a highest possible level of tennis, not only because of the result but also because of the tennis that I'm playing."
Ljubicic, a winner of nine titles on the ATP Tour, will next meet either holder and twice champion Rafa Nadal of Spain or Czech Tomas Berdych, who were playing in the day's late match.
"I'm in the semi-finals and playing fantastic tennis now," said the Croat, who eliminated second-seeded Serb Novak Djokovic in the fourth round. "Now the key is to keep going.
Monaco broke 6ft 4in (1.93m) Ljubicic in the seventh game of the match to take the opening set but the 20th-seeded Croat then took control with a deft mix of power and creativity.
He broke the Argentine's serve twice in both the second and third sets to become the first Croat to reach the last four at Indian Wells since Goran Ivanisevic in 1996.
"I was a little bit upset after I lost that service game in the first set," Ljubicic said. "Cost me the whole set, and it was really the only bad game that I played in the whole match.
"But I was lucky enough to be able to break him early in the second, which was really important to relax, kind of, and keep playing my game."
