Ernests Gulbis fought back from a set down to overcome Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the final of the St. Petersburg Open.
Gulbis, ranked 36, was broken three times in the opening set (he broke Garcia-Lopez once) and fell behind 4-1 in the second set before staging a dramatic comeback to win 11 consecutive games to seize the second set, and administer a third set bagel to the stunned Spaniard.
“The main key why I’m not yet a top player is the consistency. Everybody knows I can play well for a tournament or a match and then I go downhill. I just need to bring this consistency to bigger tournaments, especially Grand Slams. Then I believe I am a Top 20 player for sure, and not so far from Top 10,” said Gulbis after the match.
It was the Latvian’s fourth career title and earned him $78,000.
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Cover Photo: Kenneth Hong, Creative Commons License.