By Chris Oddo | Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Ernests Gulbis proved himself on the big stage once again, serving up ten aces to take down Tomas Berdych, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Photo source: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Before 2014 Ernests Gulbis had never defeated top 10 opponents in back-to-back matches before. Today the Latvian did it for the second time this season, as he bombed his way past a shell-shocked Tomas Berdych in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
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"Today everything was good," Gulbis said. "I felt physically so good. I felt that I can run forever. I felt that he cannot make winner, you know? That's how I felt on court. I felt that I covered it really well. If I feel so confident, you know, from the baseline, then everything just comes together."
Gulbis, who slipped past Roger Federer in five tough sets on Sunday to ensure a spot in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal in six years, managed to avoid what has become known as the curse of defeating Federer in a Grand Slam.
Dating back to the 2012 Australian Open, the last eight men to defeat Federer in a major had all dropped their very next match, but on Tuesday, Gulbis showed that he was in no mood for curses.
The Latvian would state his intentions clearly by racing out to a 4-0 lead in the opener, and though he surrendered his only break of the day on the fifth game to allow Berdych to move within a single break, he would hammer back-to-back aces past Berdych in the ninth game, eliminating what would be the Czech's last break point opportunity of the day to seal the first set.
Gulbis would break immediately to begin the second set and move ahead a double-break again before serving out the set, 6-2, to take a two sets to love lead.
In the third it was more of the same, as the Latvian was untroubled down the stretch after breaking Berdych early in the set. Gulbis, who cracked 31 winners against 17 unforced errors on the day, did not face a break point in the final two sets. He tossed in ten aces on the afternoon, as well.
If Gael Monfils does not win the title in Roland Garros, the 25-year-old Gulbis will make his first appearance in the ATP’s top ten next Monday.
Gulbis will face Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. Djokovic holds a 4-1 career edge against Gulbis, but they have not met since 2011.