HEAD Players Celebrate Success at Sony Ericsson Open

HEAD players enjoyed great success this past weekend at The Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Men’s Singles
HEAD players Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia and Andy Murray of Great Britain reached the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Ljubicic claimed his 300th career match win by defeating Jarkko Nieminen 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals last Tuesday. Ljubicic, who reached the Miami final last year, fired 13 aces and saved the lone break point he faced. He had defeated Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the semifinals, but eventually fell to Guillermo Canas of Argentina 7-5, 6-2. Ljubicic, currently ranked No. 8, plays with a MicroGel Extreme Pro.

Murray was one victory away from cracking the Top 10 ATP Rankings after reaching the Sony Ericsson Open semifinals Wednesday, but eventually fell to 19-year-old Novak Djokovic. Murray is currently ranked No. 11, a career-high, and plays with the HEAD Radical.

Men’s Doubles
HEAD players Fabrice Santoro of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia advanced to the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open, defeating No. 4 seed Paul Hanley of Australia and Kevin Ulyett of Zimbabwe 4-6, 6-3, 12-10. Santoro, playing with a Flexpoint Radical MP, and Zimonjic, who plays a Flexpoint Prestige MP, were defeated by tournament winners Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, both of the United States, 7-5, 6-2.

In addition, HEAD player Arnaud Clement and partner Michel Llodra, both of France, reached the semifinals after defeating No. 3 seed Mark Knowles of Bahamas and Daniel Nestor of Canada, 3-6, 6-1, 10-5. Clement plays with a Flexpoint Prestige MP.

De Brito Takes Home Honors
HEAD player Michelle Larcher de Brito, a Bollettieri Tennis Academy student, has entered her name in the record books as a result of her first round win over Meghann Shaughnessy at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open. De Brito becomes the seventh youngest player of all time to win a main draw WTA Tour match. Since the induction of the age eligibility rule in 1995, she is the youngest player to ever win a WTA tour main draw match. She plays with a MicroGel Extreme.