Gulbis claims second ATP title with LA defeat of Fish

By Bill Scott Aug 1, 2011, 0:34 GMT

Los Angeles - Latvian Ernests Gulbis ended the American dream of Mardy Fish as he defeated the top seed 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win the Farmers Classic.

The victory in two and three-quarter hours meant the second trophy from as many finals for Gulbis, 22, who once stood on the cusp of the elite but has slipped through injury to his current 84th on the ATP.

The title was the first for the Latvian since February 2010, when he won his debut final at Delray Beach, Florida.

But Gulbis, who lost five matches coming into LA, said that after months in the wilderness, he was far from sure about his game.

'In the middle of the second set I never thought I could win, I was having trouble reading and returning his serve. But a few good shots at that point changed it, that was the turning point.

'It means a lot to win my second title. I'm starting to believe again that I can compete with the top guys. I think now that I can catch them, I'm getting the wining feeling back.'

World number nine Fish was bidding for a second straight trophy this month after winning Atlanta seven days ago to kick-start his run to the US Open, which begins August 29. He is now due to fly cross-country to Washington, where he will play next week as second seed behind Frenchman Gael Monfils.

The 29-year-old LA-based American now stands 6-13 in ATP finals and will likely have to begin conserving strength if he wants to make it fresh to the Grand Slam starting in four weeks. He said he played with a heel injury from a week ago but it did not influence the outcome.

'I've played a lot of matches over the last 12 days, you put a lot of mental and physical effort into a week and you really want to win. Physically I feel fine, but you need to decompress.

'I played well, it was 6-4 in the third set. I came close to getting him but not quite.'

Fish won the opening set on a break of his Latvian opponent when Gulbis double-faulted. But the American soon found himself in a battle with the outsider who eliminated 2009 US Open champion Juan Del Potro in the quarter-finals at UCLA.

Gulbis, son of a computer millionaire, broke for a 4-3 lead in the second set, which he consolidated by winning on his third set point.

The final set was a runaway for Gulbis, with two breaks of Fish for a 5-1 lead. But the unseeded player had his troubles in closing out the match.

Gulbis succumbed to nerves as he attempted to wrap things up leading 2-5, with Fish breaking to close to 3-5.

But Gulbis would not be denied, securing his first match point two games later and sending over a forehand winner to claim victory with nine aces and 40 winners.

The win marked his seventh career match out of 35 against a Top 10 opponent.