Gulbis sets up Final Clash with Roger-Vasselin in Delray Beach

Ernests Gulbis kept his hopes for a third career title alive with a win over Tommy Haas in Delray Beach, while John Isner was upset.

By Chris Oddo

(March 2, 2013) -- Latvia's best tennis player has sworn off drinking and staying up late (at least for now), and set his sights on making the ATP's top 20 this season.

So far, so good.

After skipping the Australian Open to get some extra practice with his revamped forehand, World No. 109 Ernests Gulbis has hit the ground running, reaching the finals of the Delray International Beach Tennis Championships as a wildcard with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(2) victory over 34-year-old Tommy Haas on Saturday.

The victory places Gulbis in the final of the tournament where he won his first career ATP title in 2010. Back then he was a promising 21-year-old with a bright future. Nowadays, he's more of an enigma wrapped in a puzzle, but that doesn't mean Gulbis doesn't have the capacity to win big matches.

Today Gulbis slipped by Tommy Haas to notch his first top 20 victory of the season in his second third-set tiebreaker in his last three matches.

Gulbis turned in a clutch performance in the third set, saving two break points in the ninth game and another three in the eleventh, before winning the third set tiebreaker.

Afterwards, Gulbis, was philosophical (borderline existential) about the reasons for his recent success. "I play my game, I do what I can, I try to win and that's it," he said. “You don’t feel anything; you play by reflex. All good decisions come from the subconscious. I’m not going to sit here and give you smart-ass answers about how I worked it out. There’s no time to make conscious decisions about which shot to play. The less thoughts you have in your head, the better you play. If you think too much, you get nervous and then you choke.”

In the late semifinal, another non-top-100 player slipped into the final. World No. 105 Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France stunned top-seeded John Isner 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and eight minutes.

The 29-year-old will go in search of his first title in Sunday's final after saving all five break points he faced in the decider. Roger-Vasselin blew a break lead in the second set, but bounced back immediately to convert his third of fourteen break point of the evening in the first game of the final set.

Isner hit 9 aces in the final set, and 21 on the evening, but his inability to secure a crucial break thwarted him once again.

Isner was bidding to become the first American in the Delray Beach final since Mardy Fish in 2009.

Roger-Vasselin ended a string of 12 consecutive losses against the top 20 with the win. He had never been to an ATP semifinal before this week.

(Photo Credit: Camera Sport)