Ernests powers into first Masters Series quarterfinal

- Ernests overcame a frosty opponent, a partisan crowd and a case of second-set wobbles to defeat James Blake 6-4 1-6 6-3 in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters. This victory takes the head-to-head tally between him and the seventh-seeded Blake to 2-0, with the first win coming from the second round of this year’s Roland Garros. Blake appeared visibly unfriendly throughout the match, with television commentators attributing it to his dented pride after the French Open loss.

Both players were solid in the first set, winning more than 70% of the points on their own serve. Ernests zoomed into an early lead by breaking Blake in the third game, but threatened to unravel when he found himself down a break point when serving for the set.

He checked his nerves in time and managed to save the break point with a fearless forehand winner. He then duly captured the first set with another winner, again off the forehand wing.

In the second set, things started to go pear-shaped as Ernests’ temperamental forehand deserted him. He committed 12 unforced errors to Blake’s 8, and won only 20% of his second serves. This set lasted a mere 29 minutes and the conclusion looked inevitable after Ernests was broken in two consecutive service games.

A quick shirt change before the start of the third set appeared to signal a recovery. Aided by a plummeting first serve percentage by Blake, Ernests only needed one opportunity to break the American’s serve in the critical eighth game of the set.

Now leading by 5*-3, Ernests seemed in a mighty hurry to reach the finishing line as he rattled off four successive points. With three match points on his racquet… he promptly double faulted, much to the chagrin of his anxious fans. A string of dubious shot selection saw him squander the remaining match points, but he was given another chance when Blake sent a forehand long at deuce.

After almost two hours of play, Ernests finally made good of match point #4 when he unleashed a second serve ace to advance to his first ever ATP Masters Series quarterfinal. He will face the third seed, Novak Djokovic, a 6-1 6-2 victor over Andreas Seppi.

Ernests and Djokovic are familiar with each other’s games, having spent some time together training at the Pilic Academy in Germany. The pair contested a very close quarterfinal in Roland Garros, with Djokovic eventually prevailing.

CINCINNATI R3: Ernests Gulbis (LAT) def. (7) James Blake (USA) 6-4 1-6 6-3

~ by Zahirah on August 1, 2008.