Monday March 4, 2013
Favourites Isner and Haas tumble at Delray Beach
DELRAY BEACH (Florida): Latvian Ernests Gulbis beat Tommy Haas 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2) on Saturday to book a berth in the final of the Delray Beach International Championships against Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
In a match-up of past Delray Beach champions, German second seed Haas squandered three break points in the 11th game of the third set. Gulbis won the last five points to hold for a 6-5 lead, then won six of the last seven points in the tie-breaker.
France’s Roger-Vasselin upset US top seed John Isner 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the other semi-final.
Roger-Vasselin became the first Frenchman to reach the final of the event but he had to work for it by overcoming 21 aces by Isner in the match lasting more than two hours.
Gulbis, ranked 109th in the world, is seeking his third ATP title at the same event where he won his first Tour crown in 2010.
Former world No. 2 Haas, ranked 90 spots ahead of Gulbis, was denied a chance at a 14th career title at the same event where he won the 2006 crown. Haas last won a hardcourt title in 2007 at Memphis.
Gulbis has never faced Roger-Vasselin, bidding for his first title.
Roger-Vasselin finished with four aces and three double faults, winning 63% of his second-serve points against the American.
Isner had his serve broken three times and won just 48% of his second-serve points.
Roger-Vasselin is seeking to become this season’s third maiden winner after Bernard Tomic won in Sydney and Horacio Zeballos triumphed in Vina del Mar, Chile. — AFP
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