Gimelstob Rallies to Upset Second-Seeded Philippoussis

Unseeded Justin Gimelstob, overcoming a big deficit and his opponent’s big serve, upset second-seeded Mark Philippoussis, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3), Thursday night in the second round of the Mercedes-Benz Cup at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, putting another big name out of the tournament and himself in the quarterfinals.

The upset at UCLA by the former Bruin left fourth-seeded Michael Chang as the highest remaining seeded player. Andre Agassi withdrew because of a back injury, and Marcelo Rios was defaulted Wednesday night because of verbal abuse. (Rios was fined $5,000 by the ATP Thursday.) It came as Gimelstob beat Philippoussis, No. 14 in the ATP points race at the start of the week, for the first time in three tries.

It was a huge victory for other reasons. Gimelstob, absorbing serves from his opponent that reached 136 mph, fell behind early, then won by rallying in one tiebreaker and controlling the other.

He trailed, 4-2, before recovering to take the second set. In the third, he turned a 1-1 score in the tiebreaker into an easy 7-3 win, completing the comeback in the match that lasted 2 hours 15 minutes.

The upset came on a day when the future, according to one who should know, remained part of the Mercedes-Benz Cup present when sixth-seeded Jan-Michael Gambill defeated Laurence Tieleman, 7-6 (2), 6-2.

Gambill’s second two-set victory in 24 hours at the Stadium Court carried with it implications beyond a spot in the quarterfinals against Jason Stoltenberg, a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Goichi Motomura. It meant that Gambill had successfully followed up what could become his breakthrough performance at Wimbledon, where he reached the quarterfinals for the first time in a Grand Slam event.

“I definitely feel like it’s very important to go out and play solid tennis every day and become consistent,” he said. “That’s the goal. That’s the goal every day.”

It was a partial victory in that regard. A day after dispatching Cecil Mamiit in 66 minutes, Gambill struggled with the unexpected explosiveness of Tieleman’s serves--he had 16 aces in defeat--and fell behind, 0-2, in the first-set tiebreaker before emerging.

This was not a highlight moment. It was more Davis Cup against Spain, where he lost two singles matches, than Wimbledon, where Pete Sampras beat him in the quarterfinals and then declared, “You’re looking at the future of American tennis.” Gambill, the jet lag of the trip from Spain to Los Angeles on Monday finally taking its toll, said he felt sluggish. He wasn’t pleased with his serving.

It’s not as though he squeaked by, though. After never leading by more than a game in the first set and then trailing early in the tiebreaker, Gambill won the next seven points. That was the last Tieleman was heard from; Gambill started the second set with a 2-0 lead and cruised to victory.

The expectations have grown for Gambill, especially after Wimbledon and the post-Wimbledon comments by Sampras. Chances are good he will be asked to be on the Olympic team, if Sampras, as expected, turns down a spot.

The roster must be submitted by Tuesday. Agassi is the only one who has accepted so far.

Paul Goldstein reached the quarterfinals by beating Alex O’Brien, 6-4, 6-2, in a matchup of former Stanford All-Americans. His opponent today is Gimelstob.

The two other quarterfinals were set Wednesday: fourth-seeded Chang against fifth-seeded Wayne Ferreira and Lionel Roux versus Arnaud Clement. All four of matches are today.

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Featured Matches

Today’s singles matches at the Mercedes-Benz Cup at the Los Angeles Tennis Center:

STADIUM COURT

* Noon: Lionel Roux vs. Arnaud Clement; (followed by) Paul Goldstein vs. Justin Gimelstob; (followed by) Wayne Ferreira vs. Michael Chang.

* 7:30 p.m.: Jason Stoltenberg vs. Jan-Michael Gambill.