Doha, Qatar — Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, on a break from military service, struggled past Austria's Stefan Koubek 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Tuesday at the $1 million Qatar Open.
Ivanisevic, seeded second, recorded his first victory of the new ATP season. He is in the midst of six months of compulsory military duty in Croatia.
Ivanisevic strained his serving shoulder at the start of the first set and sought medical attention.
"There were too many distractions for me and one of them was my sore shoulder," said Ivanisevic, a finalist in this event in 1993. "Maybe I will have to take painkillers tonight to reduce the pain."
In the day's only surprise, third-seeded Albert Portas of Spain lost to Julian Knowle of Austria 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-0).
Fourth-seeded Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic beat Markus Hipfl of Austria 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, and seventh-seeded Rainer Schuettler of Germany ousted Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-3, 6-2.
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