ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Ernests Gulbis has bowed out of the St. Petersburg Open at the quarter-final stage, going down 6-7, 3-6 to Horacio Zeballos.

Zeballos, of Argentina was seeded eighth for the tournament and was expected to win the clash. Gulbis, however, was not without his chance but he was not able to close out the first set tie-break when the opportunity arose.

Although Gulbis has bowed out, the tournament has still provided success of sorts for the Latvian who insured himself entry into next year’s Australian Open by making the final eight.