Ljubicic hauls holders Croatia level with Argentina

ZAGREB, Apr 9 (Reuters) Croatia's top-ranked player and team captain Ivan Ljubicic brushed aside world number three David Nalbandian 6-3 6-4 6-4 to put the Davis Cup holders level at 2-2 with Argentina in their quarter-final today.

World number five Ljubicic served a total of 35 aces and won 83 percent of the points on his first serve to blow away Nalbandian who committed a string of unforced errors and struggled to cope with the Croatian's baseline power.

Ljubicic took control when he broke Nalbandian's serve to take a 5-3 lead in the first set after the Argentine produced a double fault and two unforced errors.

Ljubicic took the next three games to clinch the set and take a 2-0 lead in the second and Nalbandian, who committed six double faults in total and won only 59 percent of the points on his first serve, never looked like recovering.

The team captains are yet to nominate their players for the final singles rubber. The winner will clinch a semi-final berth against Australia, who progressed to the last four with a 5-0 whitewash of Belarus.

Croatia won their first Davis Cup title after beating Slovakia in Bratislava last December.

REUTERS DH PM1914