Ernests Gulbis stuns Tomas Berdych in the first round – Wimbledon Championships 2012
Latvia’s best player, Ernests Gulbis, made first major upset of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, as he stunned world number seven, Tomas Berdych, in straight sets 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 7-6(4) in the opening round at the Wimbledon Championships.
Both players served so brilliantly that they exchanged only one break of serve in the entire match, needing three tie-breakers to decide the fate of the contest.
Gulbis and Berdych held their serve throughout the first set to take the score line to 6-6 and enforced a tie-breaker. Both players kept fighting on equal terms but the Latvian grabbed last two points to grab it 7-6(5).
Ranked 87th in the world, Gulbis clinched a breakthrough in the third game of the second set to move ahead 2-1 but the Czech contender did not take much time to even out the score at 2-2. They did not allow each other
to break serve in the next eight games, levelling it a 6-6 and taking it to another tie-breaker. Gulbis gained a 3-1 advantage at the start and maintained it till the end to triumph 7-6(4).
The pattern of the decider was quite similar to the opener, as Gulbis and Berdych did not lose any serve to square off the score at 6-6 and force third tie-breaker. The Latvian snatched three consecutive points in the end to seal
it 7-6(4).
Gulbis used his huge serves to win most of the points, as he bombarded 30 aces and 79 percent of the first deliveries in the match. He played attackingly throughout the contest, as he pounded 62 winners compared to just 30 by his
opponent.
The Latvian was extremely happy at the result of the match, as he stated, “I saw the draw and I was really happy. I wanted to play first round against a tough opponent. It motivates me much more, especially first round. I really
was really happy when I saw the draw. If it had been somebody even higher ranked I wouldn't have a problem with that also. I felt really, really good.”
Gulbis also shared about his method of preparation for this year’s Wimbledon Championships. He said, “In the clay season I started to watch some old videos of me playing like 2007 and 2008. I saw the videos. It was a completely
different technique. I understood that I need to relax the swings more and just to play more relaxed.”
The Latvian has chances to proceed to the last 32, as he will play a low ranked player, Jerzy Janowicz, in the second round.
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