Great tournament for Gulbis!
The Latvian came straight from the qualifications to reach the final in style. In this tournament Ernests defeated Blake, seed no.3 Querrey, Munoz De La Nava and now seed no.2 Tommy Haas.
The match with Haas was quite complicated as both players had to cope with some wind that mixed up their strategies (more interesting… isn’t it?). At the end it was the Latvian to prevail at the tie break of the decider.
Gulbis is now the 5th qualifier in the history of the tournament to reach the final after Matosevic in 2012, Korolev in 2009, Nishikori in 2008, Calatrava in 2000 and Ilie in 1998.
From Gulbis
“It is the first outdoor tournament after the indoor season,” Gulbis said. “Qualifiers have one small advantage as they’ve played already three matches while the main draw guys haven’t played a match yet. That’s why there’s a lot of upsets here.”
From Haas
“The beginning was tough and it’s not easy to play in those conditions,” Haas commented . “When it becomes that windy you’re whole game plan, whole mood changes and you have to play different tennis. In the third set the wind was much better.”
This tournament could be a turning point for Gulbis career. Looking forward to seeing the final!
Mad point from Gulbis!
