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Gulbis Roars Back to Claim St. Petersburg Title


By Chris Oddo/ Sunday, September 22, 2013

 

Ernests Gulbis engineered a stunning comeback in St. Petersburg, winning the last 11 games to take down Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in three sets.

Photo Source: St. Petersburg Open

Ernest Gulbis won his fourth career title and first on non-American soil Sunday at the St. Petersburg Open, defeating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

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The victory, Gulbis's career-best 34th of 2013, was a work of perseverance, as he fell behind quickly and never looked to be in the match until the latter half of the second set. Somehow, the 25-year-old stayed close enough to make a push while keeping his belief intact.

After dropping the first set while surrendering three breaks of serve, Gulbis fell behind 4-1 in the second set. Facing a zoning Garcia-Lopez, and being significantly outplayed for much of the match, a defeat looked to be imminent.

But the Latvian engineered a stunning turnabout just when it looked like he may go down meekly (with help from Garcia-Lopez, who suddenly lost his range rather dramatically). Gulbis reeled off the final 11 games of the match to close out the victory in complete command of the wobbling, woozy Spaniard.

Not even a strategically placed injury timeout by Garcia-Lopez after the third game of the third set could break Gulbis's momentum.

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He scorched a down-the-line backhand winner on the first point after the Spaniard's return, and continued to mow down his sagging adversary until the Spaniard's last feeble return sailed wide of the tramlines to end the struggle In one hour and 45 minutes.

Remarkably, Gulbis only dropped five points in the decider.

Gulbis will rise inside the ATP's top 30 with the victory, and with very few points to defend for the remainder of 2013 he is in position to move significantly higher.

Gulbis started the season at 138 in the rankings, but since then he has engineered an impressive rise of over 100 spots. With newfound confidence, commitment and maturity, Gulbis may yet improve upon his peak ATP ranking of 21, achieved in February of 2011.

He becomes one of 11 ATP players to have secured multiple titles in 2013, and also improves his career record in finals to a very impressive 4-0.

Garcia-Lopez drops to 2-3 career in finals with the loss.

 

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