Ernests Gulbis bounces over Benoit Paire in round two – Credit Agricole Suisse Open 2012
Latvian star, Ernests Gulbis, summed up a 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-4 victory against the French contestant, Benoit Paire, at the Credit Agricole Suisse Open 2012 on Wednesday. As a result, the Latvian challenger progressed into the quarter-finals at this ATP (Association
of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event taking place in Gstaad, Switzerland.
Gulbis made a sloppy start but sought his momentum after the opening set. He ultimately pocketed the match in two hours and nine minutes in their first battle against each other.
Paire comfortably entered this outdoor clay court tournament and held his opening serve to level the scores at 1-1. He blocked the lone breakpoint he came across and swiped his entire serves with poise. The French got the breakthrough in the 11th
game and clicked the opener by winning seven games to five.
The 23-year-old Latvian rebounded in the follow-up set. He got the coveted break in the eighth game and took a 5-3 lead. Despite losing his edge in the very next game, Gulbis held his remaining serves and took the set to a tie-breaker. He dominated in it
and sealed the equaliser with a 7-6(3) success.
Ranked 72nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Gulbis kept momentum rolling into the final set. He brushed off all five breakpoints he came across to pluck his entire serves. The Latvian cashed in the lone break opportunity
in the fifth game and pulled out the decider with a 6-4 win.
All in all, Gulbis smacked 11 aces and spilled fewer errors to dominate throughout the match. He spilled more double faults but clobbered a better first serve share of 57 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 48 per cent. The Latvian also impressively clicked
49 out of 68 points on it and saved 15 out of 17 breakpoints he faced to conquer Paire.
Next up for the Latvian is another French challenger, Paul-Henri Mathieu, who is recovering from a knee injury. The former world number 12, Mathieu, stunned the third seeded local star, Stanislas Wawrinka, in straight sets to set up this meeting.
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