CLOSER LOOK: ACES ARE NOT ENOUGH BELGIAN FAILS TO UPSET 'STAY TOUGH' GAMBILL.Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer Surrendering 16 aces in two tennis sets means you better be doing a lot of other things right if you want to win the match. Just ask Jan-Michael Gambill Jan-Michael Charles Gambill (born June 3, 1977 in Spokane, Washington, U.S.) is an American tennis player, who made his professional debut in 1996. He's best known for his unusual double-handed forehand. . He had all kinds of trouble handling Laurence Tieleman's big serves Thursday in a second-round Mercedes-Benz Cup match, but Gambill prevailed 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals. ``Laurence was just serving up bombs. I never saw him hit that well,'' said Gambill, 23, of Spokane, Wash. ''It was a good thing I was able to stay tough.'' Tieleman's serves were his best weapon, but they turned on him too; he committed five double faults, the most important an ill-timed foot fault when he was leading 2-0 in the first-set tiebreaker tie·break·er n. An additional contest or period of play designed to establish a winner among tied contestants. Also called tiebreak. tie . Gambill went on to win seven of the next eight points to steal the set. Momentum means a lot in tennis. Gambill promptly broke service in the first game of the second set to grease the victory. ``I was feeling a bit frustrated after the double fault in overtime and I think I was still thinking about it for the rest of the day,'' said Tieleman, 27, of Belgium, making his first Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. appearance. ``It was all downhill from there.'' This is the first time Gambill has made the final eight in Los Angeles. It would have been a shame for him to bow out any earlier, considering he was coming off a quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon. Gambill has a relatively easy path to Sunday's final. With third-seeded Marcelo Rios out of the picture after being defaulted Wednesday for cussing out an official, and with Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi (born April 29 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from the United States who won eight Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. having withdrawn (back injury), No. 8 Arnaud Clement is the only seeded player Noun 1. seeded player - one of the outstanding players in a tournament seed player, participant - a person who participates in or is skilled at some game between Gambill and the final. He'll play Australian Jason Stoltenberg Jason Stoltenberg (born April 4 1970, in Narrabri, Australia) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. Stoltenberg began playing tennis at age ten on an antbed (crushed termite mound) court where his father owned a cotton farm in the Far West (the bush) of New , a straight-sets winner over Goichi Motomura on Thursday, in the quarterfinals today. ``I'm not the kind of guy who looks ahead,'' Gambill said. ``All I care about is who I'm playing next. I honestly don't even look at the pairings. I'm superstitious su·per·sti·tious adj. 1. Inclined to believe in superstition. 2. Of, characterized by, or proceeding from superstition. su that way. It's part of my routine.'' Gambill's name might not be familiar - yet - to casual fans, but he's a star on the rise. Last year he was the youngest American in the top 100 for the second consecutive year, posting victories over Pete Sampras Peter “Pete” Sampras (born 12 August 1971), is a former World No. 1 tennis player from the United States. During his 15-year career he won a record 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles in 52 appearances. Sampras finished as No. and Agassi along the way. Gambill's poster-boy good looks certainly won't hurt his cause, either. He's earned just over $1 million and he's hungry. ``It's definitely very important for me to just play solid and be consistent,'' said Gambill, ranked No. 32 on the ATP ATP: see adenosine triphosphate. ATP in full adenosine triphosphate Organic compound, substrate in many enzyme-catalyzed reactions (see catalysis) in the cells of animals, plants, and microorganisms. Tour. ''I've got a very busy schedule over the next four months with just one week off. That's why I'm not playing in the Olympics. I would have loved to do it and it was a very difficult decision not to, but I want to break into the Top 20.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Jan-Michael Gambill, one of the best Americans, intends to pass up the Olympics. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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