HEAD Signs 5th Ranked Ivan Ljubicic

HEAD announced today that the company has signed an agreement with top five player Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia. The partnership begins immediately and will continue through 2009.

“Ljubicic is quite an accomplished athlete and we are proud to have him onboard,” said Robert Marte, division manager, HEAD Racquet Sports. “The fact that Ivan is making an equipment change at the height of his career speaks volumes about our new racquets. We look forward to helping him get straight to the top.”

Ljubicic makes his debut as a HEAD athlete this week at the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open in Doha, playing with HEAD’s new Extreme Pro racquet. The Extreme Pro, which will be introduced to the trade in late first quarter, features HEAD’s new MicroGEL technology which maximizes the responsive qualities of the racquet to create a rock solid feel and explosive spin for today’s aggressive style of play.

“So many of my competitors on tour play with HEAD, I knew there was something special about the equipment and I was eager to try the MicroGEL racquets,” Ljubicic said. “My new racquet has such a great feel, I know it will benefit my game. I am proud to be a part of the HEAD family now.”

Ljubicic joins an established roster of professionals who play with HEAD. About 40 of the female and male top 100 players on tour are HEAD athletes including Andy Murray, Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Patty Schnyder and Anastasia Myskina.

Coached by Riccardo Piatti of Italy, Ljubicic was ranked as high as No. 3 in the world this past season when he won three ATP titles and reached the semi finals of the French Open. He is a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, holds six singles titles and a set match record of 61-20 in 2006. Ljubicic was born in Banja Luka (Bosnia Herzegovina) in 1979, and currently resides and trains in Monte Carlo. The right-handed player turned pro in 1998 and currently serves as president of the ATP Player Council.