DOHA, Qatar, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Rafael Nadal out-battled Ernests Gulbis for a 7-5, 6-4 win Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open tennis tournament.
While Nadal improved to 7-0 lifetime versus Gulbis, it was a typically close match between the two. This was only the second time in the series that Gulbis fell in straight sets and it took Nadal nearly 2 hours to finish off the win.