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2/27/10 4:57 AM | Ricky Dimon
Ernests Gulbis beats Leonardo Mayer on Friday afternoon in Delray Beach to reach his second semifinal in as many weeks. Gulbis is joined in the last four by Jarkko Nieminen.
It took Ernests Gulbis three years and four months to reach his second career ATP semifinal. It took him just six days to reach his third.
Gulbis, coming off a semifinal finish in Memphis last week, defeated Leonardo Mayer 7-6(2), 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships on Friday afternoon. The 21-year-old Latvian set up a meeting with Jarkko Nieminen after one hour and 37 minutes of play.
Mayer, who handled Gulbis with little trouble in the San Jose first round two weeks ago, got off to fast start with a break midway through the opening set. The 69th-ranked Argentine even held a set point as he served for the set at 5-4, but he squandered it and was soon forced into a tiebreaker. Gulbis dominated the decider seven points to two and never looked back.
Reeling from the first-set disappointment, Mayer surrendered his serve once again at 3-3 in the second and could not recover. Gulbis struck three aces without double-faulting in the second frame of play and saved one break point on his way to victory.
The world No. 72 first reached at ATP semifinal back in October of 2006 (St. Petersburg), but he did not return to such a stage until last week in Memphis. Gulbis now seeks his first ATP final as he takes on Nieminen for the second time in their careers.
Nieminen outlasted Benjamin Becker 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(5) earlier in the day. The 28-year-old Finn fought off three set points in the opening frame of play and that perhaps saved him from a straight-set defeat. After dropping the second set due to a single break, Nieminen pulled out a tight third set that saw a total of four service breaks.
The world No. 109 double-faulted three times against six aces and won only 41 percent of his second-serve points, but a solid baseline game prevented Becker from taking advantage of his big serve. Nieminen, who lost to Gulbis in the first round of the 2008 Cincinnati Masters, converted four of nine break-point chances.
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you go ernests!
stu , 2/27/10 7:26 AM
Is he going from "most disappointing talent 2009" to "most promising talent 2010"? Wonders will never cease!
deuce , 2/27/10 7:29 AM
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This is really good for Ernests' career.
northcay , 2/27/10 7:07 AM