Captain's duties weigh down Ljubicic

MIAMI, Mar 30 (Reuters) Croatia's Davis Cup quarter-final against Argentina next weekend will be Ivan Ljubicic's last as temporary captain.

''It is a lot of work, I have to say,'' the sixth seed told reporters after reaching the semi-finals of Miami's Nasdaq-100 Open yesterday.

''I just announced that this next match is gonna be my last as a captain. The problem is all the work with the media about the match, especially now when it's coming closer, all the talks with the federation representing the players, representing everyone.

''It's not easy, definitely. On a consistent basis, it's little bit too hard,'' he added after his 7-6 6-4 win over Argentine Agustin Calleri.

The quarter-final will be played in Zagreb on April. 7-9.

Twenty-seven-year-old Ljubicic, who has won two titles in 2006, said the position of responsibility while still an active player makes for a difficult relationship with friend and doubles partner Mario Ancic.

''One thing is (to) talk with Mario as a partner, but (it is another) to talk with him as a captain. With him, it's always I want to have a good relationship because we always play doubles together, we always do a lot of things together.

''I prefer that relationship to be healthy instead of making some mistakes as a captain.'' Ljubicic said that he speaks to Goran Ivanisevic on a daily basis, with the Croatian tennis hero still undecided about taking over the captaincy despite popular demand.

''We all hope that Goran is gonna change his mind and gonna take the team. If that doesn't happen, then, we're gonna have another captain.

''He's not changing his mind at the moment. But he might, you just never know with him.'' REUTERS PM BST0930