Gulbis lifts Latvian profile despite loss to Moya

NEW YORK, Sep 5 (Reuters) Ernests Gulbis fell to Spanish veteran Carlos Moya in their battle for a spot in the US Open quarter-finals, yet the 19-year-old from Riga succeeded in putting Latvia on the tennis map.

The 88th-ranked Gulbis, who before Flushing Meadows had never beaten a top-50 player, upset eighth-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo in straight sets in the third round before 31-year-old Moya ended his Open run 7-5 6-2 6-7 6-4 yesterday.

''For sure I got much more confidence now after this tournament,'' the hard-hitting Gulbis told reporters, saying he was satisfied with what he had accomplished.

The lanky Latvian broke his 0-9 mark against top-50 players with his opening win over 31st-ranked Potito Starace of Italy.

Gulbis battled long odds in moving up the rankings list.

''I'm the first guy who is top 100 from Latvia,'' he said. ''I think we have two guys in the top thousand.'' Gulbis, the only Latvian player to appear in a grand slam in the Open Era (prior to 1992 Latvians represented the Soviet Union), had success on the challengers circuit before trying his hand on the ATP tour.

He won 15 of 17 matches in his first four challengers this year, all played on indoor hard courts.

Gulbis impressed former world number one Moya, the 1998 French Open champion.

''I think he would be a great player in a couple of months, maybe a couple of years,'' Moya said after his victory. ''He hits the ball very hard.'' Gulbis said his success was raising tennis awareness back home.

''Now it's getting a little bit more popular because now they were showing this match, so it's nice.'' REUTERS TB RAI1000