By Joshua Mason
Daily Bruin Staff
If only everyone could cruise to the third round of the Mercedes-Benz Cup with so much ease.
As Taylor Dent and Max Mirnyi played nail-biting tennis on the grandstand court, Jan-Michael Gambill speedily made lunch of fellow American andformer Stanford star Paul Goldstein, 6-1, 6-4.
“I came out there today, and I was on fire,” Gambill said. “I started out playing great. It doesn’t happen very often on the tour that you can come out and just take it to the guy.”
Gambill opened by taking the first 10 points of the first set and creating momentum that would last the rest of the match. Goldstein only managed to take one game in the first set, as Gambill won 6-1 in only 24 minutes.
Though Goldstein managed to hold his serve to win the first game of the second set, Gambill marched on to win the set, 6-4.
The victory came only two days after Gambill defeated another American, Michael Joyce of Santa Monica, 6-1, 6-3, in the tournament’s first round. Gambill struggled earlier this season in the clay court tournaments, so the change to the hard court at UCLA was a welcome move for the 24-year-old American.
“I love this court,” Gambill said. “I’m playing better again because I’m on my surface, and I know that my focus is coming together. It’s definitely a boost of confidence to win here before the U.S. Open.”
With his victory Thursday, Gambill may face familiar opponent Andre Agassi in the tournament’s third round.
“It’s still just as exciting to play Andre as it ever has been,” Gambill said. “He’s a great guy off the court. On the court, he’s not so great because of the way he plays you, but we always have great matches and I’d love to play him again.”
In other Thursday second-round singles action:
- Top seed Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil beat American teen-ager Robby Ginepri, the last of the four qualifiers, 7-6(4), 6-2. Though Ginepri managed to make the first set a close one, Kuerten won five games in a row in the second to win the match. Kuerten out-served Ginepri, recording nine aces to Ginepri’s two. Kuerten has now won 14 matches in a row.
- No. 8 seed Tommy Haas (Germany) made quick work of American Bob Bryan, beating him 6-2, 6-3 in less than an hour. Haas broke Bryan twice in the first set. Bryan showed some flashes in the second set (in one game alone he had five aces to take the lead 3-2), but Haas opened the next game with three aces, eventually tying the set. Haas then took the nextthree games for the win.
- Haas will next play Kuerten in the Mercedes-Benz Cup quarterfinals.