2006 IN REVIEW The young Croat turned
in a consistent first four months with
an 18-8 match record (16-7 on hard) and
two ATP finals...Only lost once in 1st
RD in first eight tournaments...In January,
reached final in Auckland where he defeated
Murray (2nd), defending champion Gonzalez
(QF) and Wawrinka (SF) in straight sets
before losing to Nieminen...Followed with
3rd RD at Australian Open (l. to Ferrer)...Then
helped his country to a 1st RD Davis Cup
win over Austria by rallying from a two-sets
deficit in opening rubber against Melzer
to win in five sets in a four hour, 31
minute marathon...Returned to ATP action
in Marseille and reached final with wins
over countryman Ljubicic (QF) and Grosjean
(SF) before losing to Clement...In March,
played well in ATP Masters Series stops
in Indian Wells and Miami, reaching 4th
RD (l. to Ljubicic) and QF (l. to Nalbandian),
respectively...Missed QF Davis Cup tie
vs. Argentina and Monte-Carlo due to back
problems and returned in May.
