Tomic, Gulbis Pass First Round Tests

Bernard Tomic and Ernests Gulbis eased into the second round at Indian Wells on Thursday, while World No. 35 Marcos Baghdatis was sent packing.

By Chris Oddo

(March 7, 2013) -- A pair of enigmatic yet promising youngsters earned impressive victories to reach the second round as men’s singles action got underway on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open.

Ernests Gulbis and Bernard Tomic both washed out early in last year’s draw, but this year each appears to be a different player.

Tomic notched a relatively easy victory over Thomaz Bellucci, 6-4, 6-3. The 20-year-old World No. 45, who avenged a 2012 loss on clay to the Brazilian, broke serve once in each set and was off the court in 68 minutes.

Tomic, who reasserted his goal of making the top 10 by the end of the season during an appearance on BNP Paribas radio, will face 10th-seeded Richard Gasquet in the second round.

Ernests Gulbis continued his run of inspired play on Thursday, winning his 11th consecutive match with a 6-3, 6-2 decision in which the Latvian saved four of five break points and hammered eight aces against the 32-year-old Spaniard. After qualifying and then winning the title at Delray Beach, Gulbis had to win two more qualifyng matches this week just to reach the first round.

For a guy who doesn't like practice too much, maybe 11 matches in two weeks is the perfect thing to get him going.

Gulbis won four of seven break points against the hard-serving lefty, including both break points he saw in the second set. The World No. 67 will face Janko Tipsarevic in the second round.

Also moving through on Thursday were David Goffin, who avenged a demoralizing defeat to Viktor Troicki at Davis Cup with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory. Goffin, who now sports a 3-7 record on the season, will face Florian Mayer in round two.

In one of the bigger upsets of the day, qualifier Daniel Brands of Germany ousted Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets, 6-0, 7-6(3). Baghdatis bounced back after a horrible first set, but the hard-serving Brands held his ground, saving the only break point he faced in the set, and won it in the tiebreaker.

A pair of savvy veterans had better luck than Baghdatis on Thursday, as two-time champion Lleyton Hewitt moved past Lukas Rosol 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, and former World No. 3 David Nalbandian defeated Marcel Granollers of Spain, 6-4, 6-2.

Hewitt will face Isner in the second round, while Nalbandian will get Jerzy Janowicz.

(Mark Peterson/ Corleve)