The 2011 Farmers Classic came to a shocking conclusion on Sunday afternoon, with unseeded Ernests Gulbis outplaying American top-seeded Mardy Fish to claim the championship of Los Angeles’ biggest tennis tournament.
Gulbis, the Latvian giant-killer who also knocked off No. 2-seeded Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals, came back from an early deficit to upset Fish 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, extending his record in ATP World Tour singles tournament finals to 2-0.
“It’s a huge boost of confidence,” Gulbis said. “That’s basically the most important thing, because (earlier this year) I wasn’t sure if I could compete with the best guys.”
Fish utilized his powerful service game to its full extent in the match against Gulbis, racking up 14 aces with one serve even topping out at 135 miles per hour. But it was not enough to triumph on the day, as the top-ranked American seemed to run out of gas early in the third set.
“I was tired, I was fatigued,” Fish said after the match. “I’ve played a lot of matches in the last month and a half, and (Gulbis) was coming in just a wee bit fresher than me.”
Gulbis double faulted seven times and committed 34 unforced errors but was able to overcome those hurdles by combining timely drop shots and passing shots with some steady baseline play and his powerful forehand. Gulbis also managed 10 aces of his own.
“In the middle of the first set, I thought there I had no chance to win the match,” Gulbis said.
“He was returning everything. … I got two, three points (here and there), and that’s what turned it around.”
Gulbis managed to snatch one of the match’s five break points to take a 4-3 lead in the second set and rode its momentum to a 6-4 second-set win.
In the third and deciding set, Gulbis grabbed an early break to steal the first game from Fish, and another to go up 4-1 thanks to three straight unforced errors by Fish.
Fish made a late run in the third set, but the Latvian stood his ground and came out with the victory.
“I wasn’t nervous when (I was up) 5-2, but that’s why I lost (the next two games),” Gulbis said. “It’s good to be a little nervous so you push yourself.”
Gulbis becomes the first unseeded player to win the Farmers Classic since the Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek upset American James Blake in 2007.
Earlier in the day, the third-seeded doubles team of Belgium’s Xavier Malisse and the Bahamas’ Mark Knowles fended off India’s Somdev Devvarman and the Philippines’ Treat Conrad Huey, who had knocked off the first and fourth seeds, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10).
Knowles, 39, played for the Bruins from 1990 to 1992. The Farmers Classic win was the 54th doubles title of Knowles’ career.