Gonzalez saves five match points to beat Gulbis

VIENNA (AFP) - Fernando Gonzalez fought off five match points before defeating Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 4-6, 7-6 (13/11), 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Austrian Open on Wednesday.
The number two seed from Chile, who the day before had needed 138 minutes to dispose of Simone Bolelli, was on court for a further 130 minutes before securing his victory.
Gulbis, a French Open quarter-finalist, stretched the more experienced Gonzalez all the way in the opening two sets with his more varied game keeping his opponent guessing.
Mixing penetrating groundstrokes, frequent use of the dropshot and often playing serve and volley, he immediately recovered a break to level the first set at 3-3 and then broke against for the set with a perfectly executed drop volley.
Both players had break point opportunities in the second set, before Gulbis netted a weak backhand to give Gonzalez a break for 5-4. But the Chilean failed to serve out the set, and then was also unable to convert any of three break points at 5-5 as the set moved to a dramatic conclusion.
Gulbis held five match points in the 24-point tiebreak, before a double-fault allowed Gonzalez to level the match on his third set point.
Gonzalez quickly established a lead in the deciding set, giving up just four points in the first three games before a final break, to love, left him serving for victory.
"There were many match points and he was in control of the match," said Gonzalez. "Most of the time I was the guy who was running and trying to reach some balls, and he was the one who was going for it every time.