KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Ivan Ljubicic was preparing for his third-round match at the Nasdaq-100 Open on Sunday when he found something totally unexpected in his locker, naked fellow player Michael Llodra.
The French prankster Llodra decided to surprise Ljubicic by
taking off his clothes and squeezing into the Croatian's locker,
much to the amusement of the other players in the changing
rooms.
"I went to open the locker and I was completely shocked,"
13th seed Ljubicic told reporters.
"He was looking at me, I was looking at him. I said, 'What
the hell are you doing here?'"
Ljubicic has made a brilliant start to the 2005 season,
reaching four finals in three months and also beating Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick during Croatia's Davis Cup win over the U.S. in Carson, California three weeks ago.
"He (Llodra) said to me, 'I'm trying to get positive energy
from you. You're winning a lot of matches this year'," said
Ljubicic.
"The locker, it's not a big locker, it's a small locker.
It's not easy to get in that locker, I'm telling you.
"He is not a small guy [but] very flexible. Very, very
flexible."
Ljubicic took the prank in good heart and went on to win his
match against American Vince Spadea 6-3, 4-6, 7-6.
Llodra was also victorious in his first-round doubles match
alongside Arnaud Clement.
"Now, when I open my locker, I'm opening it really slowly,"
said Ljubicic. "After this I don't know what I'm going to find
in there."