TENNIS RG14 – Ernests Gulbis of Latvia is an enigma or perhaps had split personalities. There is “Good Gulbis” and then there is “Bad Gulbis.” Today he faced Radek Stepanek and good Gulbis took the match 6-3 6-2 7-5. Cordell Hackshaw
Interviews, Results, OOP, Draws from the Roland Garros
Ernests Gulbis (18) of Latvia is an enigma or perhaps had split personalities. There is “Good Gulbis” and then there is “Bad Gulbis.” No one who has seen him play doubts that he is talented and has the potential for greatness. Since turning pro in 2004, the 25-year-old has shown much on a consistent basis to prove his admirers right. He is often crashing out of tournaments early or seemingly capitulating in big matches. Added to this, he has a certain flair for on court dramatics as well as conversational public statements (Bad Gulbis). However, he is 6-0 in finals including 2 titles this year in France at Marseille early in the year and last week in Nice (Good Gulbis). The Latvian has an abysmal record at the majors. In his 27 appearances at the majors, he has only gone past the 2nd round four times and his current 3rd round appearance here in Paris is the furthest he has gone in a major since 2008. Having achieved this minor success as well as a good showing during this year’s clay court season, Good Gulbis was more than ready to deal with his unseeded opponent, Radek Stepanek, a player he holds a 3-0 lifetime record against. Good Gulbis took the match 6-3 6-2 7-5.
Stepanek though mostly known for his doubles prowess is a very competent singles player. He kept things lively throughout the match but he could not deal with the in-form Gulbis on this day. Gulbis broke early the 1st set and was soon at 4-1. He was then closed it out 6-3. His serving for the match was very impressive. He was getting in 63% of his first serves and winning a phenomenal 94% of those points combined with 45 winners and 30 errors. “Today I’m very pleased. Today I served well. [Stepanek] had only one break point. Served, yeah, average, one to two aces a game. Any opponent is going to have trouble with that.” Gulbis would later state. With this much confidence on serve, it was no surprise that the Latvian was very aggressive on his return game and soon had a double break in the 2nd set to serve it out 6-2 on an ace. Stepanek was able to keep the scoreboard in his favour as he served first in the 3rd set. He attempted to put the pressure on Gulbis who was serving down 4-5. However, the Latvian was able to turn the tables quickly on his opponent as he not only held serve for 5-5, he broke to serve for the match at 6-5. On his 19th ace of the match, Gulbis won 6-3 6-2 7-5 and is through to the 4th round to face Roger Federer (4).
Gulbis had a lot to say in his post-match press conference. He spoke about the reason for his poor performance at the majors; “I did a lot of bad decisions career wise. Maybe not even just bad decisions, but just not paying too much attention to the things what I do, you know, not paying too much attention how to treat my body, how to practice…” He was also very optimistic about his matchup against Federer and noted that he has a game plan but not willing to share at this point. However, he is not afraid of the matchup; “I wouldn’t consider myself as a favourite. Roger will always be favourite against guys who are ranked lower than him probably. But I’m not scared of that match at all if I would have to play against him. I played him three times, I beat him once. I’m really confident.”
