Ernests Gulbis loses to Jerzy Janowicz in the second round – Wimbledon Championships 2012
Just two days after creating the biggest upset of 2012 Wimbledon Championships, Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis lost to his lower ranked opponent, Jerzy Janowicz, in the second round at the All England Club in London on Wednesday.
The Latvian could not capitalise on his two sets to one lead, as he went down in five 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-9 after a long battle of three hours and 10 minutes.
Gulbis had defeated the 2010 finalist and current world number seven, Tomas Berdych, in straight sets in the opening round. It was expected from the Latvian that this year he would not choke and play to his potential but that could
not happen once again.
Ranked 87th in the world, Gulbis made a very good start to the match, as he allowed his opponent to claim just two games in the first set, breaking him twice to capture it 6-2.
Janowicz responded strongly, breaking the Latvian in the opening game of the second set and winning his subsequent serve to attain a 2-0 lead. The Polish contestant sustained his advantage till the end and sealed it 6-4.
It was Gulbis’ turn to perform better in the third set, as he grabbed first three games to race to a 3-0 lead. The Latvian did not allow Janowicz to comeback, holding his entire serves to grab it 6-3.
Gulbis and Janowicz did not allow each other to break serve throughout the fourth set, squaring off the score at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. The Polish player performed tremendously well, dropping just two points and winning
it 7-6(2).
After the score getting tied at two sets apiece, a fierce fight started between Gulbis and Janowicz in the decider. None of the two players was allowing the other to break serve, going on equal terms in the first 14 games and leveling
the score at 7-7. However, it was Janowicz who made the final breakthrough, striking in the 15th and making the most of it to triumph 9-7.
After beating Berdych in the last match, Gulbis had himself made fun of his mental strength. In an interview, he had said, “I’m very well known for mental strength. Watch my previous matches. I’m really happy that I didn’t choke
in the end, as usual. So it’s progress.”
Janowicz is now drawn to take on the 31st seed, Florian Mayer of Germany, in the third round.
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