Ivanisevic Going Back on Vacation

Maybe he could blame it on a long vacation, or a disappointing Wimbledon loss.

Whatever the reason, the Goran Ivanisevic who lost to Guillaume Raoux in the Mercedes-Benz Cup at Los Angeles Tennis Center on Tuesday didn’t look anything like the fierce competitor who finally fell in the Wimbledon final to Pete Sampras in five sets.

“He didn’t play like he did at Wimbledon, that’s for sure,” said the unseeded Raoux, who upset third-seeded Ivanisevic in the first round, 6-4, 6-4. “He missed a lot of points. He didn’t play like somebody who practiced very hard for three weeks.”

The proud Frenchman arrived at a news conference afterward wearing the blue jersey of the World Cup champions and comparing his victory here to France’s semifinal win over Croatia, Ivanisevic’s homeland, in the recent soccer tournament.

Raoux, 28, broke Ivanisevic’s serve once in each set, and capitalized on the 26-year-old’s inconsistency. Although Ivanisevic served 13 aces, he double-faulted eight times. Raoux served only five aces and finished with no double faults.

“[Ivanisevic] missed a lot, so I waited a little bit more,” Raoux said. “I was waiting until he missed. I should have played more aggressive, but I was waiting for his mistakes. When I broke his serve, I had to break it because I was waiting too much. I just tried to concentrate and focus on my serve and my service game, and it worked.”

Ivanisevic declined to talk about his singles match until after his evening doubles match. According to ATP officials, however, he has been on holiday since the end of Wimbledon, sailing the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Croatia.

Ivanisevic wasn’t the only seeded player upset in Tuesday’s early play. Sargis Sargsian of Armenia defeated sixth-seeded Wayne Ferreira of South Africa, 6-1, 6-2. After losing his first set, Ferreira took the early lead in the second, 2-1. Sargsian, though, tied the score and then broke Ferreira’s next two serves for the win.

Second-seeded Tim Henman of England won his first-round match over Grant Stafford of South Africa, 6-3, 6-0. Eighth-seeded Vince Spadea of Boca Raton, Fla., beat Marcos Ondruska of South Africa, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Jeff Tarango of Manhattan Beach defeated Alejandro Hernandez of Mexico, 6-2, 6-2, and Michael Joyce of Los Angeles beat Michael Tebbutt of Australia, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5.

In the night session, top-seeded Patrick Rafter of Australia beat Ramon Delgado of Paraguay, 6-3, 6-2, and fifth-seeded Andre Agassi defeated Bob Bryan of Camarillo, 6-4, 6-3.

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Today’s Featured Matches

11 a.m., Center Court

* Byron Black vs. Gianluca Pozzi

* Kenneth Carlsen vs. Guillaume Raoux

* Sargis Sargsian vs. Michael Joyce

7:30 p.m. Center Court

* Jeff Tarango vs. Tim Henman