Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis returned from an injury layoff on Monday to defeat Lukas Lacko 7-5, 7-5 in the opening round of the US$619,000 ATP Farmers Classic event.
Gulbis, who turns 22 next month, was playing his first match in two months after injuring his right hamstring at the French Open.
Gulbis had to shake off the rust in the early going but clawed his way to victory with the help of 11 aces.
PHOTO: AFP
“You just win whatever it takes,” said Gulbis, who was facing Slovakia’s Lacko for the first time. “You push, you run, you fight and you cheat, you do whatever it takes.”
Then he quickly corrected himself.
“Of course, it is not possible to cheat. In futures though, I was cheating a lot,” he said.
PHOTO: AFP
Joking aside, Gulbis already has one win this season on US soil (Delray Beach) and is looking for another this week on the hard courts at UCLA.
The youngest player in the draw is maturing on the court and it is showing in his rankings as he has reached No. 28 in the world.
“I didn’t care how I play, I just wanted to win by whatever score,” Gulbis said. “Ugly tennis. I need to get some wins going. If I play more matches I am going to get better.”
In other first round matches on Monday, German veteran Rainer Schuettler was handed a 6-3, 3-0 win when Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos had to withdraw in the second set with a injured left shoulder and sixth seed Janko Tipsarevic breezed past Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo 6-1, 6-0.
Fifth-seeded Gulbis next faces the winner of a match between Colombia’s Alejandro Falla and Slovakia’s Karol Beck.
Gulbis broke Lacko’s serve three times on seven chances and saved five of six break points in the one hour, 41 minute match on center court.
“The first set was really good,” Gulbis said. “The second set I was getting a bit tired … It was a tough win because I didn’t feel the ball really well. I had to go in much earlier than I usually want to go. I served well and returned well.”
Gulbis posted his first ATP Tour title in Delray Beach in February and reached the semi-finals in Memphis and Rome.
Schuettler reached the second round here after seventh-seeded Zeballos pulled out.
“I’m a little sad because I know this is a really important tournament,” Zeballos said. “I wanted to win some matches, but what can I do? I’m just going to try and think about the next tournament and be focused for that.”
Schuettler, who was once ranked fifth in the world, will square off against Robby Ginepri, of the US, or a qualifier next.
In the late match, Israel’s Dudi Sela beat Xavier Malisse of Belgium 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Britain’s Andy Murray is the top seed in the tournament as he makes his Los Angeles debut here. This year’s field lacks star power, as Murray is the lone player ranked in the top 15 in the world entered. Murray is playing his first tournament since reaching the semis at Wimbledon.
Meanwhile, Mardy Fish, who is fresh off his second consecutive title in as many weeks, pulled out of the tournament on Monday night.
Tournament officials said the eighth-seeded Fish arrived in Los Angeles for the event but was too fatigued to compete.
Fish, who is ranked 37th in the world, has won two titles this year (Newport and Atlanta) and is 28-11 overall.
“Due to fatigue and a sprained ankle in Atlanta I am not in good shape to play,” Fish said. “I need to rest in order to compete at a high level”
World No. 2 Novak Djokovic was also expected to compete in Los Angeles but withdrew because of personal reasons.
The festivities kicked off on Saturday with an exhibition match between US tennis legends John McEnroe and Andre Agassi designed to raise money for Agassi’s charity.
■CROATIA OPEN
AP, UMAG, CROATIA
Sixth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine overcame Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (3) in a back-and-forth match on Monday to reach the second round of the Croatia Open.
Lorenzi served for the match at 6-5 in the third set and had a 3-1 lead in the tiebreaker, but didn’t win a point after that.
The 42nd-ranked Dolgopolov served for the match at 5-4 in the second, but Lorenzi broke back before taking the tiebreaker.
Dolgopolov will next meet Croatian wild card Franco Skugor, who routed two-time Umag finalist Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-2, 6-1 in 56 minutes.
It was only the third career ATP-level singles victory for the 22-years-old Skugor, who reached the quarter-finals at the Swedish Open two weeks ago.
Eighth-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentine also advanced after breaking Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain four times in a 6-4, 6-1 win.
Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko and second-seeded Jurgen Melzer, the French Open semifinalist, have a bye in the first round.
■STANFORD CLASSIC
AFP, STANFORD,CALIFORNIA
Red-hot Agnieszka Radwanska beat South Africa’s Chanelle Scheepers 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the first round of the US$700,000 WTA Bank of the West Classic on Monday.
The third-seeded Radwanska, of Poland, registered both of her aces in the third set and won both of her break points.
Radwanska has won four of her last five matches after winning four of her previous 10.
She advanced to the semis at Indian Wells and Dubai and the fourth round at Wimbledon,
Scheepers, ranked 91st, had a strong outing at the French Open earlier this year, reaching the fourth round as a qualifier. On June 7 she cracked the top 100 in the world for the first time.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese player Chang Kai-chen defeated Mashona Washington of the US 6-4, 6-0
A pair of former world number ones, Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Dinara Safina of Russia, had mixed results on Monday.
Wild card Ivanovic beat Russian Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-2. Ivanovic is now ranked 63rd in the world.
Safina was eliminated by Japan’s Kimiko Date Krumm 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 in two hours, 22 minutes. Safina, currently the 35th ranked player, has lost six straight matches.
Additional reporting by Staff Writer
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