Ernests Gulbis reacts after winning at Delray Beach, Florida, Sunday. (AP-Yonhap News)
DELRAY BEACH, Florida (AP) ― Qualifier Ernests Gulbis beat Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6 (3), 6-3 on Sunday for his second title at the Delray Beach International Championships.
The 109th-ranked Gulbis, who also won the tournament in 2010, is the first qualifier to reach a final this season. The previous qualifier to win an ATP World Tour title was Jarkko Nieminen last year in Sydney.
Gulbis also became the third qualifier to win the title at Delray Beach, joining Kei Nishikori (2008) and Andrew Ilie (1998). The Latvian is set to move way up when the next rankings are released.
“I feel really good about it and I just talked to my coach (Gunther Bresnik) and he’s happy, I’m happy, everybody is happy,” said Gulbis, who has been ranked as high as No. 21 in February 2011. “We didn’t think that it was going to happen so fast.
“My coach thought I wouldn’t go back into the top 100 until around April.”
Gulbis improved to 3-0 in ATP finals. He also won in Los Angeles in 2011.
It was the first time since 2007 in Houston that two players ranked outside of the top 100 reached the final. The previous player to win a title while ranked outside the top 100 was then-No. 141 Ricardas Berankis in 2012 in Los Angeles.
Roger-Vasselin, ranked No. 105, made his first appearance in an ATP final.
Malaysian Open
KUALA LUMPUR (AP) ― Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic fought back from a poor first set to beat American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Malaysian Open.
Both players were vying for their first WTA singles title, with the 127th-ranked Pliskova winning in her first final.
Wild card Mattek-Sands ― a former top-30 player who has slipped to No. 197 ― struggled against her Czech opponent in the third set, which was delayed by more than 30 minutes due to an evening rainstorm.