Top seed Tim Henman crashed out of the Madrid Masters with a 6-4 4-6 6-2 third-round defeat to Ivan Ljubicic. An out-of-sorts Henman struggled throughout with his consistency and was made to pay by the big-serving Croat.
There were no break points until the 10th game when Ljubicic deservedly managed to pinch the first set.
The British number one saved two break points at 3-3 in the second set and went on to win it but was broken twice in the decider.
Henman had to battle hard to hold his serve in the first set while Ljubicic was much more solid and gave his opponent no chances.
The Croat's opportunity came when he carved out a break point with Henman serving at 4-5.
A fortunate volley saved the Briton but luck favoured Ljubicic on the next point, a net cord giving him a second chance to break which he gratefully accepted.
Henman faced two break points midway through the second set but dug deep to level the scores at 3-3.
He then looked to have seized the initiative after converting his first break point of the match in the next.
The 30-year-old, ranked five in the world, then served out to take the set 6-4 and force a decider.
At that stage, Henman seemed the more likely winner but a poor service game saw him drop his racquet in disgust when he was broken to fall 4-2 behind.
And the same racquet was hurled to the ground with much more force after another unforced error allowed his opponent to hold serve in the next game.
Henman had by now lost all hope and world number 29 Ljubicic broke again to seal victory and a place in the quarter-finals.
MMIX
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