Apr 3, 2006 3 min read

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) – The men’s final at the Nasdaq-100 Open came down to a handful of points, and Roger Federer won them. Federer came from behind in every tiebreaker to claim the Key Biscayne title for the second year in a row Sunday, beating Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6).

“The bigger points, he played better,” Ljubicic said. “He played more relaxed and more confident than I was. When you play a tiebreaker against him, he rarely misses.”

The top-ranked Federer won three tiebreakers in a match for the first time to remain unbeaten since August 2004 in the United States, where he has won 48 consecutive matches and the past seven tournaments he has entered.

Federer improved to 28-1 overall this year, with the only loss to Rafael Nadal in Dubai.

“I was extremely happy with the way I played,” Federer said. “The first set gave me a little cushion, and Ivan was always running uphill.”

Ljubicic, seeded sixth, settled for runner-up despite losing only 12 points on his first serve. He hit 21 aces, and during one stretch won 13 service points in a row.

But Federer won the pivotal points, such as when he faced set point in the final tiebreaker at 5-6. He hit a pair of service winners, then spun a return off the net cord. It dribbled at the foot of the net on Ljubicic’s side of the court for a winner and the championship, and Federer walked to the net with a sheepish grin.

He became the first man to win titles at Indian Wells and Key Biscayne back-to-back in consecutive years.

“To do back-to-back at Indian Wells and Key Biscayne is unbelievable,” Federer said. “I never thought I would do it again.”

He extended his record winning streak in the ATP Masters Series to 24 matches, and won his ninth Masters Series final in a row.

Even against top players, Federer is remarkably dominant: He beat Ljubicic for the seventh straight time.

But the match was his toughest of the tournament, and the narrow margin made him a little testy. He yelled at himself and argued at length with a lineswoman about a call. When he challenged a ruling on his serve and lost, he appeared rattled and double-faulted on his next shot.

The first set alone took 59 minutes, the length of Federer’s semifinal victory over David Ferrer, and he played for 80 minutes before earning a break-point chance against Ljubicic. The players then traded back-to-back breaks – the first of the match – for 4-all in the second set.

But in the tiebreakers, Federer was slightly better. He hit an ace to close out the first one, and won the final six points in the second tiebreaker.

In the third set, he rallied after losing his serve in the first game, breaking back for 3-all. He held serve to reach 6-6, then improved to 12-1 in tiebreakers this year.

Federer received $533,350 for his fourth title this year. Ljubicic, a finalist in a U.S. event for the first time, earned $266,675.

“For 10 seconds after the match, you’re mad because you were close,” Ljubicic said. “But a week after, you’re proud.”