Philipp Petzschner upsets seventh seeded Ernests Gulbis at the 2011 Open 13
Seventh seeded Ernests Gulbis, became the first seed casualty at the 2011 Open 13 in Marseille, France this week as he failed to move past the first round. He fell to the unseeded German, Philipp Petzschner.
Making his debut run in Marseille, Petzschner went head-to-head with Gulbis for the first time in his career. The German had to deal with not only a better ranked player but also the element of surprise. However, finding his footing, Petzschner was able
to dominate his opponent and also enjoy a straight sets victory against him.
Opening the first set, Petzschner and Gulbis came out swinging. With both players saving 100 per cent of their break points, the match was pushed into a tiebreaker. Although Gulbis struck nine aces to Petzschner’s five, it was the German’s first serve percentage
that dictated the set. Recording a first serve winning percentage of 94 per cent to Gulbis’s 73 per cent, Petzschner was able to hold the Latvian to two points as he raced to clinch a 7-2 win.
Leading the set score 1-0 seemed to have done wonders for the German. Bursting with confidence and energy, Petzschner held Gulbis to ten points as he recorded a perfect 100% winning percentage on first serve to get a breadstick win. Losing only three points
in the set, Petzschner managed to convert two of six break opportunities, as he sealed his straight sets victory against the Latvian.
Taking a total of seventy four minutes, Petzschner struck a resounding total of eleven aces and lost only 15 of 60 points on service. Saving three of three break points and successfully converting two of eleven break opportunities, the German was able to
ensure his survival at the event. Petzschner now moves on ahead to play the Croat, Marin Cilic.
Although Gulbis was not so lucky, other seeds had better luck in the tournament. Also playing his first round match during the day was Ivan Ljubicic. Seeded fifth in the event, Ljubicic started his campaign this week as he took on Kazakh Andrey Golubev.
Already leading the head to head 1-0, Ljubicic was able to extend his lead against Golubev as he dismissed the Kazakh in straight sets in a little over an hour.
Serving in the opener, Ljubicic recorded a notable 80 per cent win on his service as opposed to Golubev’s meagre 50 per cent. Dominating the courts, Ljubicic successfully converted two of three break opportunities to win the set 6-2. Leading the set score,
Ljubicic met with some resistance in the second set. However, cashing in on Golubev’s four double faults and saving 100% of break points, the Croat was able to seal his straight sets victory with a 6-4 win in the second set.
Ljubicic now moves on ahead to play the Russian qualifier, Dmitry Tursunov.
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