Gasquet Tames Spirited Bubka To Book Quarter-Final Berth

© Dubai Duty Free Tennis ChampionshipsFormer World No. 7 Richard Gasquet was the first player into the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Mayer easily progresses through

Richard Gasquet won the final five games as he overcame a spirited challenge from qualifier Sergei Bubka to win 6-2 7-5 and reach the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

The Frenchman was once ranked as high as seven in the world and is still ranked a respectable 28, but he was made to struggle by 342nd-ranked Bubka who needed a wild card even to get into the qualifying event.

Gasquet looked comfortable in the first set, breaking to lead 3-2 when the Ukrainian netted a backhand and then again for 5-2 when he made another backhand error.

But Bubka’s adventurous and aggressive approach which often saw him come to the net began to pay dividends in the second set as he broke to lead 2-0 when Gasquet netted a forehand. The Frenchman had an opportunity to break back in the fifth game but Bubka held off that threat with a forehand winner, and he went on to lead 5-2.

But he failed to serve out the set, dropping his serve to love when he made yet another backhand error, and Gasquet broke again to lead 6-5 with a well-struck overhead. The match ended when Bubka put yet another backhand into the net.

"He played well in the start of the second set. I got more pressure. He played with a lot of big shots," said Gasquet. "And, me, I played maybe too slow. I played a bad game at 1-Love for him in the second.

"I tried to focus and to stay in the match, and he did maybe a bad game at 5-3. I knew it could be maybe tense (for him), because he had to serve to win the set. It's not easy for him. He did two or three bad choices, and that's why I came back at 5-4. I have more experience than him at the end of the second set. You never know what could happen in the third set, so it's good to finish the match."

Also into the quarter-finals is Germany’s Florian Mayer, who defeated Kazak Andrey Golubev 6-3 6-4.

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, continues until February 26th with players including Australian Open and reigning Dubai champion Novak Djokovic and four-time Dubai winner Roger Federer.