Who is Ernests Gulbis?

by Helen W, new contributor



Gulbis who? Who the heck is Ernests Gulbis?

Around the boards a lot of folk are wondering where this guy sprung from.

Ernests Gulbis is only 19-years-old (birthdate Aug 30, 1988) and was born and currently resides in Latvia. Like Rafael Nadal, he played very few ITF junior events, electing instead to turn pro in 2004. Currently his ranking is No. 80 although that will undoubtedly spike on Monday with his quarterfinal performance at Roland Garros.

He first got my attention at last year’s US Open where he survived until the fourth round. Along the way, he took out No. 30 seed Potito Starace in straight sets, Michael Berrer in straight sets, and then No. 8 seed Tommy Robredo in straight sets 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 before losing in the fourth round to No. 17 seed Carlos Moya 5-7, 2-6, 7-6, 4-6. I was impressed and I'm still surprised how little anyone knows about him.

Here’s a blog entry describing him at the US Open 2007 that illustrates his charm.



He is the first tennis player from Latvia -- land of 2.2 million people -- to be ranked in the top 100, and the first to make the quarterfinals of a Slam. “Tennis in Latvia has never been a popular sport but once I got into the top 100 the interest grew - and after I did well at the US Open last year the courts started to get booked up,” said Gulbis. “Now, if I go to practise at home, I can't find one. Our federation is gradually getting bigger sponsors to help some of the younger players but it is tough for them.”

After taking out No. 7 seed James Blake and Frenchman Michael Llodra, he finally bowed out of Roland Garros today to No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic in three tight sets.

Like Djokovic, Gulbis spent time in his youth at the Niki Pilic Academy in Germany where the two of them became friends.

Here’s a fan website, which is the only website dedicated to him that I could find.

Maybe that will change soon.

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Latvia's Ernests Gulbis is going places

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[Editor's note: We picked Gulbis as one of the players to watch for 2008. We also gave him an honorable mention nod as best ATP newcomer in the Second Annual Gonad Awards.]