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By Richard Pagliaro

Photo Credit: Costantini/Internazionali BNL D'Italia.com

(Mahy 12, 2010) Another day and another clay-court champion bites the dust at the hands of Ernests Gulbis.

The talented 21-year-old Latvian was nearly flawless on first serve, winning 32 of 35 points on his first serve to post a 7-6(2), 6-4 victory over 10th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny at the Muta Madrilena Madrid Open today. Gulbis has won nine of his last 11 matches.

It marked the second straight match Gulbis took out a recent clay-court champion and put him one match closer to a possible rematch with World No. 1 Roger Federer as he continues his climb toward the top 10.

If Gulbis beats Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez and Federer prevails in an all-Swiss match with Olympic gold-medal winning doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka, then Gulbis and Federer will meet for the second straight time in a Masters 1000 event. Gulbis beat Lopez , 7-6(6), 6-1, in the Rome quarterfinals to level their head-to-head series at 1-1.


Gulbis backed up a bold serve with some audacious ground strokes in upsetting Federer in the Rome round of 16, 2-6, 6-1, 7-5. Gulbis followed that effort by taking a set off four-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in the Rome semifinals before bowing, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, solidifying his status as a Roland Garros threat.

Youzhny beat Marin Cilic to win his first title of the season in Munich on Sunday. Gulbis ground down the 13th-ranked Russian one round after he beat Estoril champion Albert Montanes, 7-5, 6-1. Montanes beat Federer and Frederico Gil to successfully defend Estoril on Sunday.

Gulbis' loose pre-service ritual of spinning the ball in the air and checking his toss contrasts with the crushing serves he can deliver. It's almost like watching a bull perform a juggling act before trying to gore a matador.

The 34th-ranked Gulbis opened the match winning 19 consecutive points on serve before Youzhny finally broke through in the ninth game with a bit of a flukey return that hit the top of the tape and landed in the corner, surprising Gulbis, who slapped a reply into net.

Youzhny completed his third career top-20 season in 2009 and dropped just one set in claiming his first title of the season in Munich.

Starting down two set points serving at 5-6 in the first set, Youzhny struck a service winner down the T to erase the first set point. On the ensuing 21-shot rally, Gulbis sent a backhand beyond the baseline as Youzhny drew even at deuce, eventually holding for 6-all.

The tie breaker showed just why Gulbis can be a threat in Paris. He is one of the few players capable of dictating play off both his serve and return. If Gulbis, who loves to play the drop shot, but whose feel around net not his forte, develops his net game it will make his already lethal groundstrokes even more effective.

Attacking net in the tie breaker, Gulbis hit a backhand drop volley winner followed by a firm backhand volley crosscourt to take a 5-0 tie breaker lead. He never looked back and now looks ahead to a possible rematch with Federer. They have split two meetings with both matches going three sets.