By Eve Fodens Mon 7 Nov 2005
TOMAS Berdych produced one of the shocks of the season when he tamed in-form Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4 to win the Paris Masters.
The 20-year-old Czech, ranked 50th in the world, held his nerve in the five-set thriller to end the brilliant indoor run of sixth seed Ljubicic and capture his first Masters Series title.
Ljubicic, who had won 20 of his last 22 matches to clinch titles in Metz and Vienna before stretching Rafael Nadal to five sets in the Madrid Masters final, still has plenty to look forward to. His Paris campaign won him a ticket to the eight-strong Masters Cup from 13 November in Shanghai. The 26-year-old will also carry Croatian hopes in their Davis Cup final with Slovakia.
Ljubicic, who defeated top seed Andy Roddick in Saturday's semi-final, recovered from two sets down to force a decider and unleashed 28 aces but it was not enough to stop Berdych from becoming the second youngest winner of the tournament after Boris Becker triumphed aged 18 in 1986.
"The key was the beginning," said Ljubicic. "He played really well and there wasn't much I could do. I didn't have many chances. He was just too good."
Before coming to Paris, Berdych had won just one title, on Palermo's clay last year. He did, though knock Roger Federer out of last year's Olympics in Athens, where he reached the quarter-finals. "The perfect word to describe him is dangerous," Ljubicic added. "You never know what to expect from him. He can do it all."