Tommy Haas ousts Ernests Gulbis to enter quarters – Mercedes Cup 2013
Top seed, Tommy Haas, got the better of the Latvian challenger, Ernests Gulbis, in a three-set thriller at the Mercedes Cup 2013 on Thursday. He notched up a 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 victory against the Latvian to secure a spot in the final
eight at this clay court event taking place in Stuttgart, Germany.
The former world number two, Haas made a powerful start but lost his track in the following set. However, the local star re-kindled his spark in the deciding set and progressed into the quarter-finals. This was their fourth encounter
of the season with Haas conquering the Latvian in his past three encounters on his home soil. Gulbis on the other hand managed to overpower the veteran on hard courts in Delray Beach in March.
The in-form German commented in a courtside interview after stealing the show, "It was very nice to play in front of a great crowd. It is never easy to play Gulbis again in Germany – the third time in a row on German soil in the
second round. It just came down to a few points here and there, so I am happy to have advanced to another quarter-final."
Haas thundered into the opening set in this battle. He unleashed flurry of groundstrokes to reel off six straight games. As a result, the German pulled out the opener with a bagel.
Ranked 36th in the Emirates Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Gulbis re-focused in the following set. He smoothly held his entire serves and got the breakthrough in the eighth game, eventually grab the equaliser by winning
six games to three.
In the deciding set, the 35-year-old re-gained his strength and held his opening serve with poise. He continued hitting angled shots and pocketed his entire serves. The German got the desiderated break in the last game and clinched
the decider with a 6-4 score line.
The French contender, Benoit Paire, also stole the show and joined Haas in the quarter-finals.
"It is always difficult to play after Wimbledon on clay courts," the Frenchman stated in a post match interview to the ATPWorldTour.com. "It was a very good match and I am happy to have beaten Davydenko in two sets. I have never
beaten Hanescu in three matches, but I think I have made a lot of progress this year."
Paire crushed the former world number three, Nikolay Davydenko, with a breadstick to set-up this epic battle.
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