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DOHA - DEFENDING champion Ivan Ljubicic started his Qatar Open title defence on a winning note by defeating former champion Stefan Koubek 6-4 6-4 on Monday.
The fourth-seeded Croatian recorded three service breaks as he overcame his opponent in 73 minutes.
Ljubicic relied heavily on his big serves, but his back-hand returns also created problems for the Austrian who won the title in 2003.
'It is always good to win the first match of the season. It gives you a lot of confidence and it also helps you to assess your game,' Ljubicic told reporters.
Earlier, Igor Andreev became the first seeded player to lost in the US$1.5 million (S$2.2 million) tournament.
The seventh-seeded Russian looked out of sorts on the Centre Court and surrendered meekly to Thomas Johansson of Sweden 6-1 6-0 in 45 minutes.
Johansson, a former Australian Open champion, won breaks in the fourth and sixth games of the first set to go 1-0 up in 24 minutes.
The Swede achieved breaks in the first, third and fifth games to win the second set 6-0.
France's Fabrice Santoro, the 2000 winner, was stretched to three sets by Italian Andreas Seppi before winning 6-4 1-6 6-2.
'It was a tough match. I started off slowly but found my rhythm only in the second set. He (Seppi) played well,' said Santoro. -- REUTERS
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