LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis earned the second ATP title of his career Sunday, rallying to upset top-seeded American Mardy Fish 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to win the $619,500 Los Angeles hardcourt crown.
Gulbis, who arrived in California ranked 84th in the world after a series of lackluster results, denied Fish a second title in as many events after the ninth-ranked American’s successful title defence in Atlanta last week.
The 22-year-old Gulbis had played just one previous ATP final, when he won his only title at Delray Beach, Florida, in 2010.
After reaching the semi-finals at Sydney in January he climbed to a career-high ranking of 21 in the world in February, but his first-round victory over fifth-seeded Belgian Xavier Malisse here ended a five-match skid.
Gulbis’ lack of finals experience showed when he served for the match at 5-2 in the third set. He opened the game with a double fault en route to dropping his serve.
After Fish held to narrow the gap to 5-4, Gulbis again faced a break point after netting two backhands. Gulbis averted the threat with a drop shot that Fish couldn’t quite answer, and he put the match away with a forehand down the line on his
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