Andy Roddick through to the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters
Andy Roddick defeated Ernests Gulbis in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday 11 November.
Roddick, who qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals later this month as a result of his victory and Fernando Verdasco's loss to Gael Monfils on Thursday, overcame the Latvian in two sets, winning 6–3 7–6.
"I think it's a goal at the beginning of every year," Roddick said about qualifying for the event, which will pit the top eight players on the ATP Rankings against each other at London's O2 Arena. "It's certainly an accomplishment every year. I think it's
an honour to qualify once, and then each time I think kind of you realise how tough it actually is."
Roddick will now face Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer at the ATP Finals, which start on 21 November.
Early break from Roddick in the first set
Roddick opened the first set by holding his serve and then breaking Gulbis' serve in the second game to earn a 2–0 lead.
At 4–1, the American had a first-serve percentage of 81, with Gulbis landing only half of his first serves so far.
The world number eight continued to hold on service, hitting three stunning aces at 5–3 to claim the first set in convincing fashion.
With 14 unforced errors by Gulbis, compared to only three by his opponent, the Latvian needed to improve significantly in the second set to stand any chance of progressing.
And he started promisingly, sealing the first game with an ace to hold. At 3–3, Roddick nearly broke his opponent, but Gulbis defended another break point to earn a 6–5 lead.
Last year's Wimbledon champion then drew level to force the set into a tie break, where the players matched each other until a double fault by Gublis gifted Roddick two match points at 6–4.
Gulbis saves two match points
The 22-year-old then showed his ability when he sent Roddick around the court during the first point and hit a strong backhand to draw level at 6–6.
After saving another match point, Gulbis hit the ball wide after approaching the net to give Roddick a chance to seal the match on his serve.
As Gulbis failed to clear the net, the American sealed the tie break at 10–8 to win the match.
Roddick will now face Swede Robin Soderling, who overcame Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka on Thursday, in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
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