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9/29/08 7:51 PM | Ricky Dimon
Ernests Gulbis takes out Mario Ancic on Monday in straight sets to reach the second round of the Open de Moselle. Next up for Gulbis in Metz, France is Janko Tipsarevic.
Ernests Gulbis came up with the goods in a battle of talented but inconsistent stars on Monday afternoon in Metz, surviving Mario Ancic 7-6(3), 6-4. It took Gulbis one hour and 39 minutes to book his place in the second round of the Open de Moselle.
Ancic's main problem throughout his career has been almost-constant injury, but most recently an illness sidelined him during the summer. The 6'5'' Croat missed the U.S. Open and his rust showed early on in this match. Gulbis seized an early break and went on to get the best of his opponent's serve twice in the first set, but dismal serving by the Latvian kept Ancic competitive. Gulbis, whose main problem at 20 years old has been keeping his nerve while serving out sets and matches, threw in seven double-faults throughout the opening frame of play and Ancic broke a second time at 5-3 to stay alive. Ancic saw four more break points at 5-5, but Gulbis saved them and all and eventually took the set seven points to four in a tiebreaker.
That seemed to settle Gulbis down quite a bit and his play improved considerably in the second. He lost just one point in his first three service games en route to consolidating another early break. Things got a little tense as Ancic had a 30-30 opportunity with Gulbis serving for the match at 5-4, but Gulbis fired an ace and closed out the proceedings on his first match point.
Gulbis sent 11 aces past the No. 8 seed and won 84 percent of his first-serve points. He also double-faulted just once in the second set after the wretched first-set display.
It will be the second head-to-head encounter between Gulbis and Janko Tipsarevic when the two men clash for a spot in the quarterfinals. Gulbis led Tipsarevic 6-4, 4-2 on the clay courts of Barcelona earlier this year when the Serb retired with an injury.
Gulbis really picked it up in the second after letting his play slip to Ancic's level in the first.
Disappointing missed opportunity at 5-5 in the first for Ancic, but a decent effort considering he is not match-tough right now.
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Did you know that... James Blake appeared in People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" issue in 2006.
janhavi, Nov 21, 2008 1:53 PM
janhavi, Nov 21, 2008 5:53 AM
james007, Nov 21, 2008 3:46 AM
Avalaine, Nov 20, 2008 9:06 PM
james007, Nov 20, 2008 8:03 AM
gordana, Nov 21, 2008 9:50 AM
tennisfan2, Nov 12, 2008 4:24 AM
elle, Nov 10, 2008 2:11 AM
Mario Ancic
Ernests Gulbis
Open de Moselle
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