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By Chris Umpierre

Daily Bruin Staff

Former UCLA standout Justin Gimelstob was on his way to the finals of the Mercedes-Benz Cup when his temper got the best of him.

After dominating the first set of his match against No. 4 seed Michael Chang, Gimelstob lost his focus when a fan’s cell phone rang repeatedly during one of his serves.

The 23-year-old cursed out the fan but in doing so lost both his concentration and the match’s next 11 games to lose to Chang 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.

“I am a very intense person and sometimes tennis is a sport that really challenges you physically and emotionally,” Gimelstob said. “You really need to stay focused.”

Gimelstob began to lose his focus in the second set when he was up 3-2 and on serve.

As he tossed the ball up, a cell phone rang from the crowd, causing him to stop his serve.

Then on his very next serve the same cell phone rang again and Gimelstob lost his cool.

“Shut off your damn phone!” he screamed in the direction of the fan.

Gimelstob was unable to recapture his focus after the incident, and Chang broke him to tie the score 3-3.

Then after Chang won his ensuing serve, Gimelstob angrily threw his racquet 20 feet. The chair umpire gave him a warning and Gimelstob received a chorus of boos from the crowd.

“It’s part of Justin’s personality to be intense,” Chang said. “Whether that be hitting great shots or whether that be showing a little frustration.”

“It’s part of who he is,” he added.

Chang won the next two games to win the set 6-3. At the end of the set Gimelstob ripped his shirt and threw it down in disgust.

Gimelstob, who had the biggest upset of the tournament when he beat No. 2 seed and No. 14 in the world Mark Philippoussis, didn’t win a single game after the cell phone incident – including being shut out in the final set.

Although Gimelstob has worked on containing his temper, it continues to be a problem for the 6-foot-5 righthander who was nicknamed “The Kid” when he first came on Tour.

“I don’t think it had too much to do with my age, just the way I was behaving,” he once said about the nickname.

Chang said that although that type of intensity can hurt a player, it can also sometimes help.

“It can get you fired up,” Chang said. “I think (John) McEnroe was a really great example of that. He would get frustrated after a bad call and come out and play even better tennis.”

As for Chang, he will make his fifth finals appearance in ten tries at the Mercedes-Benz Cup. He won the tournament in 1996.

On Sunday, the former No. 2 player in the world will attempt to win his first tour title in two and a half years.

“It means a lot for me to make the final,” Chang said. “I feel very blessed to have this opportunity. I’m really excited about it.”

“It’s been a long time since I won a title, hopefully with God’s will it will happen,” he added.

Chang will play Jan-Michael Gambill, who defeated Arnaud Clement 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.

“It’s going to be a tough match,” Chang said. “I got to be up and ready to go.”