He lost to Gulbis 7-6(5), 6-4. Was down 5-2 then got a break back but couldn't get another 1. Overall I liked his effort even though he got broken twice in the 2nd Set, he did make it interesting. Next up maybe New Haven otherwise the US Open which he got a Wildcard for.
He will lose pts at the Open if he loses 1st rd. Qualifiers get a bonus of 1/2 the 2nd rd pts for coming thru qualies. WCs who lose 1st rd get zero pts.
I knew the match-up was awful for him. They play similar games and Gilles is better. Don's biggest weakness was exposed in a major way today. He lacks pace and he lacks the ability to handle pace. He's too lightweight. We saw it against Matosevic in Aptos. He doesn't hit the ball hard enough and when he does he overhits the ball. He needs more beef in his game to compete in ATP events.
Hopefully this loss doesn't harm him going forward throughout the rest of the year. He has nothing to defend for about 1 3/4 months, so now is his time to solidify a top 100 position. His next tournament is in two weeks in Tulsa.
He has shown that he can handle the Challengers quite well, but just needs to transition his game to the Tour. Next stop for him is going to be Tulsa so I wish him the title their, or at least a good run...Top 100 by the end of the year should still be a success for him considering he dipped down to the 200s earlier in the year.
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