Winning return for Gulbis

Gulbis: Relieved with victory

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Ernests Gulbis marked his comeback from injury with a hard-fought victory in the first round of the Farmers Classic.

The Latvian, who has been out of action with a hamstring problem since losing in the opening round of the French Open in May, defeated Lukas Lacko 7-5 7-5 at the LA Tennis Centre.

Gulbis served 11 aces and broke his opponent's serve three times as he rounded out the win in one hour and 41 minutes.

After the contest, Gulbis stated that he was satisfied to secure victory on his return and was not worried over the scrappy quality of the match.

"I didn't care how I played. It was a tough win because I didn't feel the ball really well," he said.

Fight

"I just wanted to win, whatever the score, ugly tennis or whatever, to get some wins going. Whatever it takes - you push, you run, you fight."

The 21-year-old, who is the youngest player in the draw, will face either Colombian Alejandro Falla or Slovakian Karol Beck in the second round.

Seventh-seeded German Rainer Schuettler also progressed after his first-round opponent Horacio Zeballos retired with a shoulder injury when trailing 6-3 3-0.

Zeballos said: "I'm a little sad because I know this is a really important tournament. I'm just going to try and think about the next tournament and be focused for that."

Elsewhere on the first day of action, number six seed Janko Tipsarevic cruised past Santiago Giraldo 6-1 6-0 while Dudi Sela won a back-and-forth contest with Xavier Malisse 6-1 4-6 6-3.

British number one Andy Murray, who could potentially face Gulbis in the quarter-finals, is the top seed for the event.