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Veteran Ernests Gulbis upsets fourth seed Alexander Zverev in five sets

ByReuters

Published 07/07/2018 at 20:22 GMT

Former world number 10 Ernests Gulbis became the first qualifier to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon since Brian Baker in 2012 when he upset fourth seed Alexander Zverev 7-6(2) 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-0 on Saturday.

Latvia's Ernests Gulbis celebrates after beating Germany's Alexander Zverev 7-6, 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 in their men's singles third round match on the sixth day of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest L

Image credit: Getty Images

The 29-year-old Latvian, a one-time training partner of Zverev's brother Mischa, handed the young German a lesson in perseverance and solid shot-making to reach the fourth round for the first time after 11 attempts.
"It's been a great match for me. I didn't think I could win after losing the third set and having served for the set, but he got tired and I played smarter," said Gulbis, who had only won one tour level match all year -- in the first round of the French Open -- and was ranked 138 after struggling with injuries.
"It comes from practising, playing qualifying here, getting some wins. I also qualified for Paris. It's not easy, but when you do it gives you some confidence," added Gulbis, who reached his highest ranking of 10 in 2014.
Zverev, who won a five setter against American Taylor Fritz from 2-1 down in the previous round, failed to improve on his best at Wimbledon last year when he also went out in the third round.
The 21-year-old German had the better of an even opening set that went with serve but Gulbis turned the tables in the tiebreak to take it 7-2.
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Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts against Ernests Gulbis of Latvia during their Men's Singles third round match on day six of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 7, 2018 in London, England.

Image credit: Getty Images

Zverev came back in the next two sets but when it looked like Gulbis would not last the pace, he broke to go 4-2 up in the fourth and took the wind out of his opponent's sails.
Gulbis won the final set to love in a denouement reminiscent of Zverev's five set defeat by South Korean Hyeon Chung in the third round of the Australian Open where he also suffered a fifth-set bagel.
Zverev had suffered from a stomach bug during his match with Fritz.
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