Tommy Haas topples Ernests Gulbis to enter quarters – Gerry Weber Open 2013
Defending champion, Tommy Haas, stomped over the Latvian challenger, Ernests Gulbis, in straight sets at the Gerry Weber Open 2013 on Thursday. He jolted down a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory against the Latvian to progress into the final
eight at this Wimbledon warm-up event taking place in Halle, Germany.
Seeded third in this event, Haas fended off early resilience to outsmart the Latvian in their fifth encounter. After stealing the show in one hour and 47 minutes, the local star stayed on track to defend his title and improved
to a 3-2 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against Gulbis.
The German veteran stated in a post match presser, “It’s always nice winning matches like this, especially when you didn’t use the chances so much. Had a lot of break chances in the first set, couldn’t really take advantage of
them. A lot of the time I didn’t have much of a chance actually because he was serving really well, hitting the shots when he needed them. Luckily I won the first set in a tie-break. Even in the beginning of the second set, another couple of break opportunities...
But finally I could break him and it helped me to win the match.”
In the opening set, both challengers displayed brilliant tennis skills at the Gerry Weber Stadion. The German sought 12 break chances in this set but failed to convert any to his advantage. However, he dragged the set to a tie-breaker
as he was not threatened with any breakpoint. Haas prevailed his opponent in it and clinched the opener with 7-6(5) score line.
The former world number two, Haas maintained his consistency in the following set. He smoothly held his entire serves without facing any hindrance and got the breakthrough in the fifth game, eventually sealing the set by winning
six games to four. The German capitalised on one out of five break chances to earn the limelight.
Summing up the 35-year-old’s performance, Haas penned down impressive stats in this match. He clobbered a slightly better first serve ratio of 70 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 67 per cent but impressively marked 39 out of
44 points on it. The German withstood 15 aces and capitalised on seven double faults Gulbis committed.
Up next for Haas is the former world number seven, Gael Monfils, in the round of eight. The French star triumphed over the Czech qualifier, Jan Hernych, in straight sets to progress.
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