Ernests Gulbis denies Tsonga’s Marseille hat trick, wins fifth career title

Gulbis had an outstanding run this week including upsetting top seed Richard Gasquet in the semifinals. This is hsi first title since winning the St. Petersburg Open last October. The 25-year old received $99,545 in prize money plus 250 ranking points.

“My long-term goal in tennis isn’t to be Top 20. It’s to be No. 1,” Gulbis said. “Anything less than that wouldn’t make me fully satisfied. I don’t want to get to 30 years old, look back on my career and say I didn’t make something of it. Everybody’s looking for satisfaction in life, and my joy and happiness is based on my tennis career.

“I think [the top players] feel threatened by my game, because they know if I serve well and I’m aggressive, then it’s tough to play against me. I don’t feel I’m in the same league as the [Top 4] yet, I need to prove it. Game-wise, I think that I can be.”

Gulbis posted strong results in the past year which saw his ranking rise from as low as 109 to number 23.

“It’s a really nice small record for me,” said Gulbis of his 5-0 record in ATP Tour title matches. “5-0 is really good. I remember when I used to play Futures and Challengers, I think I lost maybe one or two finals. When I get into finals I really have good form and good confidence and play my best tennis. Today I was serving really well and in the tie-break I was feeling really, really confident.

“I’m very happy right now, but the reality is that you’re back on court in two days. I want to keep both feet on the ground. There’s a couple of big tournaments coming up. It’s been a great week, but I want to build on it.”

Frenchmen Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin won the doubles title after defeating Paul Hanley and Jonathan Marray 4-6, 7-6(6), 13-11 in the final.