Gulbis Wins First Title

AP

Ivo Karlovic observed his 31st birthday yesterday, but he didn't have much to celebrate. Ernests Gulbis, all potential and inconsistency, brought out his best tennis and slayed the giant 6-2, 6-3 to win his first ATP title on his first try at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships.

It wasn't as close as the score.

All week, Gulbis' talent was on full display. In the final, he frustrated the Croat with return winners off first serves, unreturnable bombs of his own, cannonball passing shots, and drop shots out of nowhere. Dr. Ivo faced such of barrage, he was found slicing his backhand into the court right in front of his feet more times than he cared to count.

Ever since he tore Tommy Robredo a new one at the 2007 US Open in a performance that earned him a Gonad and a whole lot of expectant fans, the inconsistent and temperamental Latvian has been on a mission of mediocrity. He had trouble winning two matches in a row for much of last year, but he comes out this week and takes his first title without dropping a set. The first man from Latvia to win an ATP title.

“Everything what I do now is first time for my country,” he said after the match. “Of course it’s great. I hope it’s positive. I hope much more players will start to practise in Latvia. It’s good for tennis in Latvia. They see that a guy from Latvia also can make it and win an ATP World Tour event.”

Maybe it's the new Afro, but Gulbis looks as though he may be ready for his close up.

Let's see what he brings to Indian Wells.

Face Of The Day

Getty

Ernests Gulbis of Latvia watches his shot during the singles game against Alberto Martin of Spain during the first round match at The AEGON Championships tennis tournament at Queen's Club in west London, on June 9, 2009.

Singles - Second Round
[2] A Roddick (USA) d K Vliegen (BEL) 61 64
[6] J Blake (USA) d I Ljubicic (CRO) 62 76(4)
[8] M Fish (USA) d M Llodra (FRA) 57 76(5) 63
[4] G Monfils (FRA) d A Golubev (KAZ) 63 36 76(5)
[10] F Lopez (ESP) d D Istomin (UZB) 76(3) 46 76(5)
S Querrey (USA) d [Q] K Anderson (RSA) 75 63

Singles - First Round
[9] I Karlovic (CRO) d T Gabashvili (RUS) 63 76(11)
A Martin (ESP) d [13] E Gulbis (LAT) 76(9) 64
J Ferrero (ESP) d [WC] S Grosjean (FRA) 62 21 ret. (right shoulder)
S Darcis (BEL) d P Capdeville (CHI) 36 63 64
J Benneteau (FRA) d D Koellerer (AUT) 63 64

Doubles - Second Round
[5] L Kubot (POL) / O Marach (AUT) d L Hewitt (AUS) / A Murray (GBR) 64 63

Doubles - First Round
W Moodie (RSA) / M Youzhny (RUS) d R de Voest (RSA) / A Fisher (AUS) 67(4) 76(6) 10-6
[WC] C Fleming (GBR) / K Skupski (GBR) d A Pavel (ROU) / H Tecau (ROU) 76(3) 64
J Blake (USA) / M Fish (USA) d E Butorac (USA) / S Lipsky (USA) 36 63 10-6
J Benneteau (FRA) / M Llodra (FRA) d [WC] M Cilic (CRO) / I Ljubicic (CRO) 64 63

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Singles - First Round
(11) Anne Keothavong (GBR) d. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 62 62
(16) Melinda Czink (HUN) d. (Q) Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) 64 63
Mariya Koryttseva (UKR) d. (Q) Yulia Fedossova (FRA) 46 64 62
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) d. Ayumi Morita (JPN) 75 36 63
Julia Goerges (GER) d. (Q) Anastasia Rodionova (RUS) 64 62
Sania Mirza (IND) d. (Q) Tatiana Poutchek (BLR) 61 62
Stefanie Voegele (SUI) d. (Q) Carly Gullickson (USA) 36 64 75
Petra Cetkovska (CZE) d. Stéphanie Foretz (FRA) 76(5) 63

Suspended due to rain
(15) Aravane Rezai (FRA) leads (LL) Mariana Duque Marino (COL) 54
Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) leads (Q) Naomi Broady (GBR) 57 76(4) 54
Maria Elena Camerin (ITA) leads (Q) Lilia Osterloh (USA) 76(4) 44
(Q) Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) leads Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 67(5) 76(7) 31

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Gerry Weber Open

Singles - First Round
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d S Bolelli (ITA) 75 62
P Petzschner (GER) d [3] F Verdasco (ESP) 36 76(5) 64
[4] J Tsonga (FRA) d F Santoro (FRA) 75 62
[7] J Melzer (AUT) d A Clement (FRA) 16 63 62
[WC] M Zverev (GER) d [Q] J Sirianni (AUS) 62 64
[Q] O Rochus (BEL) d [Q] F Vicente (ESP) 60 60
P Kohlschreiber (GER) d B Phau (GER) 64 62
N Kiefer (GER) d V Troicki (SRB) 62 61
A Beck (GER) d C Rochus (BEL) 63 61

Doubles - First Round
T Berdych (CZE) / D Vemic (SRB) d [2] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) 61 62
M Gicquel (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) d R Wassen (NED) / I Zelenay (SVK) 63 62
A Clement (FRA) / R Schuettler (GER) d F Santoro (FRA) / F Serra (FRA) 63 62
[WC] T Haas (GER) / M Kohlmann (GER) d J Cerretani (USA) / V Hanescu (ROU) 76(12) 64

Djokovic Upset

Australian Open champion and world No. 3 Novak Djokovic lost in straight sets to Latvian Ernests Gulbis at the Brisbane International yesterday. The talented, feisty Latvian started the match on edge, but got out of his own way and hit Djoke off the court 6-4, 6-4.

“I was trying to keep my focus to the next point,” said Gulbis after the match. “Not [thinking] about winning or losing because last season I lost a lot of matches because I was up, maybe a break up in the third set and I had match points and I started thinking about winning the matches. This time I was really focused till the last game on my serve.”

It's nice when the youngsters learn their lessons. Djoke, sporting a new hairdo that left me wondering what on earth he was thinking, seemed unfazed by the whole thing.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Mario Ancic, and Kei Nishikori also advanced.

US OPEN 2008: Men's Quarterfinals Preview

by MAD PROFESSAH

Here are my predictions for the last major's men's quarterfinals of the year.

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) vs. Mardy Fish USA. Mardy Fish is replacing fellow American James Blake who went out to his "good friend" with nary a whimper in the third round 6-3 6-3 7-6(4). Fish has had some surprising results, beating former World #1 Roger Federer earlier this year at the Indian Wells semifinals in straight sets, but no result would be more surpising than beating the current World #1 (who happens to have lost one match since early May!). However, it is definitely possible, since Fish has the game to beat anyone when he is "in the zone" and Nadal has never made it past the quarterfinals in New York, where he has lost in this very round in the last two years. However, I think the third time will be the charm for the Spaniard, despite the New York crowd. PREDICTION: Nadal in 4 sets.

Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (17) vs. Andy Murray GBR (6). What happens when an immovable object meets an irresistible force? The 19-year old Del Potro has been the second hottest player all summer, having won the last four (relatively small) tournaments he entered while most of the world's elite players were at the Olympics. Murray is at his career high, having won his first ATP Masters shield over Djokovic in Cincinatti and will be ranked #4 in the world (thanks to Davydenko's upset) on Monday for the first time. The two have only played once, with Murray winning on clay in Rome earlier this year. I actually would be interested to see Del Potro win because I want to see what would happen when the two hottest players meet in the semis, but I really think this is Murray's time, and he is itching for revenge for his loss to Nadal at Wimbledon. PREDICTION: Murray in 4 sets.

Andy Roddick USA (8) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3).This will probably be the best match of the four men's quarterfinals. The two have only played twice before, both times on hard courts in the last year or so and they have exchanged wins. Djokovic has been having a difficult time in the last few rounds, barely winning 4-6 6-2 6-3 5-7 6-3 against the pulchritudinous Tommy Robredo in the fourth round as well as a very tough 4-setter against the young, hard-hitting, very tall Maran Cilic 6-7(7) 7-5 6-4 7-6(0) in the third round. Roddick on the other hand swept past the very talented Fernando Gonzalez 6-4 6-2 6-1 to get to this quarterfinal and really only had a difficult match against the young, hard-hitting, very tall Ernest Gulbis 6-3 5-7 6-2 7-5. I had initially predicted that Djokovic would win this quarter but I have seen a lot of Roddick matches and I believe if he is the fresher, with a New York crowd behind him late at night, he may just come through. However, Djokovic loves playing against a hostile crowd and he will have nearly two days to recover from his near death experience against Robredo. PREDICTION: Roddick in 5 sets.

Nikolay Davydenko RUS (5) Gilles Muller LUX vs. Roger Federer SUI (2). This might have been the journeyman quarterfinal if Igor Andreev had kept on playing the way he did for the first two sets the entire match. Even so, Federer was pushed to the brink, only winning 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-3 3-6 6-3. Andreez had 54 winners to 42 errors compared to Federer's 66 winners to 60 errors(!). In the round before, Federer had 9 unforced errors in 3 sets of flawless tennis against the decidedly un-pulchritudinous Radek Stepanek. Muller is a hard-hitting lefty who gave Davydenko fits in the fourth round, pulling out a 4-set win 6-4 4-6 6-3 7-6(10), saving a handful of set points in the 4th. Federer would probably have preferred to play Davydenko who he has beaten 12 times in a row (and never lost to) since Muller is someone he has only beaten twice (and never lost to). However, he hasn't faced the player from Luxembourg since 2005 and probably has no idea how Muller plays. Howeve, having lost to another Gilles earlier in the summer, I believe he will take this match seriously. Federer is on an incredible record-setting streak of 17 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals and I doubt the 130-ranked player in the world will prevent the World #2 from extending that streak to 18 no matter what his first name is. PREDICTION: Federer in 3 sets.

WIMBLEDON 2008: Men's Semifinals Preview

by Mad Professah

The 2008 Wimbledon Men' s semifinals are now set. Mad Professah correctly predicted Federer and Schuettler's quarterfinal wins. This Men's semifinal preview (like the Women's Semifinal Preview posted yesterday) are all about inevitability and the Number 3. From the beginning of the tournament I predicted a third all-Williams final and a third Federer-Nadal final. It's inevitiable.

Roger Federer SUI (1) vs. Marat Safin RUS. Federer has played the mercurial Russian ten times before and beaten the 2-time Grand Slam champion eight times. Of course the most famous match the two have played was at the 2005 Australian Open where Safin defeated Federer in a thrilling 5-set semifinal match saving a 4th set match point in the process. Safin used to despise playing on grass and had never played well at Wimbledon before this year. In fact, Safin hasn't been playing well at any tournament since his 2005 win in Melbourne---he hasn't won a single ATP title since and has 15 total. Federer has 55 titles and last played Safin at Wimbledon in last year's 3rd round and won in 3 relatively tight sets 6-1 6-4 7-6(4). Safin (and Federer) are playing better this year, but the result will still be the same, the inevitable third match-up betweek Federer and Nadal in the Wimbledon final. PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.

Rainer Schuettler GER vs. Rafael Nadal ESP (2). The "accidental semifinalist" Rainer Schuettler has had a pretty lucky draw since the only seed in his path to this point was a second round showdown with American James Blake in the second round which he won 6-4 in the 5th. Schuettler also had to win a 5-set match again Arnaud Clement in a 5 hour, 12 minute match spread over two days just to reach this semifinal showdown with World #2 Rafael Nadal. Nadal has only dropped one set this tournament, against talented big-serving Ernest Gulbis in the second round, and played 3 tiebreaks, winning all of them. It's unlikely that Schuettler, who is known for being in incredible shape but has no singular weapon, will be able to win as many as 6 games in a set. PREDICTION: Nadal in 3 sets.

Winners & Errors

by Helen W

Herewith a highly-personal and eclectic review of the Wimbledon Week 1 men's draw.

Winners
Naturally Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal head the list, but I'd like to highlight some of the lesser-known players or unexpected standouts. But before I do, mention must also go to Andy Murray and Richard Gasquet -- are they finally going to play up to their talent?

Andreas Beck



Yes, the 22-year-old lefty qualifier lost in the first round. But his opponent, in his first-ever Slam match, was no less than Rafa. He lost in 3 tight sets 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 and stood tough for the entire match, belying his 122 ranking.

Ernests Gulbis



Who is Ernests Gulbis? Almost everyone believes that he is a future top-ten player. In losing to Rafa (7-5, 2-6, 6-7, 3-6) he became the first player to take a set off him in since heaven knows when. And like Beck before him, he rose to the occasion, playing great tennis.

Bobby Reynolds



No American man made it to week 2, but 26-year-old journeyman Bobby Reynolds, currently ranked 102, was the only one who made it into the third round, before going down to Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

Nicolas Kiefer



I used to dislike Kiefer as a player who would do anything to win, including cheat. See this article for an account of an ugly racket-throwing incident in a match against Sebastian Grosjean. But after the latest of his numerous injuries, Kiefer seems to have had an epiphany, and has relinquished his win-at-all-costs attitude and replaced it with a more generous outlook. These are the kinds of stories that always warm my heart.

Anyway, Kiefer also went down to Nadal in straights 7-6, 6-2, 6-3 but showed his amazing shotmaking in the tight first set. In the third , down 5-0, he raised his hands in mock celebration when he finally held his serve, then electrified the crowd by breaking Rafa (for the first time in the match) in the next game. He held his next serve before Rafa slammed the door and left the court, happy that he had managed to complete his match before dark and could now get football finally out of his head on Sunday.

Rainer Schuettler



Remember him? At age 32 he is the oldest man left in the draw. Up until Wimbledon his record for the year is 4 - 13 (ouch). But in 2003, he advanced to his first career slam final at the Aussie open (lost to Agassi), and finished the year ranked 6 in the world. In 2004 he was briefly ranked 5, after which his ranking declined and has never recovered. His last final was Monte Carlo in 2004. His next opponent is Janko Tipsarevic, so I predict that his run at Wimby will end there, but congrats to the veteran for getting into week 2.

Marat Safin



Remember him? Year after year we hope that his life as a headcase is finally behind him. Will this be the year? Well, for the first time in yonks, by his own admission, he has won 2 matches in a row. Perhaps the recent successes of little sis have inspired him? He has told the press that he has been training very hard to get back into top form.

His first surprise at Wimbledon, and it was a shocker, was taking out Novak Djokovic in straights (6-4 7-6 6-2) in the second round. Some fans were unkind enough to suggest to Djokoer that he should first win, then talk. Others commented on how lucky Roger was, with Marat doing the job of taking out his biggest threat for him.

But I digress. Was Marat's win just a fluke? Would he go back to headcaseland in the very next match? Happily, no. He played an enthralling match against Andreas Seppi last Friday (one of the best days of tennis I can remember), where as darkness fell he eventually prevailed 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. A fantastic effort by both players -- no-one lost this match, Marat won it against a worthy opponent who gave his best.

Here's hoping!

Andreas Seppi



See above. This year the 24-year-old righty is ranked 30 in the world, and has reached the semis in Hamburg and the quarters at Nottingham.

Janko Tipsarevic



I'm sure most tennisheads remember Tipsy taking Roger to 5 sets at the Australian Open. Well, now we know for sure that that was not a fluke -- he took out Roddick 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 in the second round on Centre Court Wimbledon, at the same time as Schuettler was taking out James Blake 6-3, 6-7, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. He then proceeded to take out Dmitry Tursunov in straights, and his next match is against Schuettler, so I predict he will make the quarters.

Mario Ancic



Finally completely over his case of mono, and sporting his new law degree, Ancic played a thrilling match against David Ferrer, where he eventually prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 on Centre Court on the same day as Marat played Seppi. And again, it was a match of the highest calibre, which was won, not lost.

Honourable Mentions
Besides Murray and Gasquet, the following players also deserve a nod:

• Marcos Baghdatis
  He of the electrifying smile has reached the fourth round. However, he has had a relatively easy draw so far. Is he back in form? His next match is against Feli, and I predict he will make it to the quarters.


• Marin Cilic
  At 19 years old, Croation Marin Cilic is the youngest player left in the draw. His next match is against Arnaud Clement (at age 31, the second-oldest player left in the draw), and I predict he too will make it to the quarters.


• Arnaud Clement
  Currently ranked 145, Clement has taken out 3 higher-ranked players (Jonas Bjorkam, 128; Benjamin Becker, 116; Jurgen Melzer, 72) to reach the 4th round.


• Fabrice Santoro
  This is probably the last Wimbledon for The Magician. He requested, and was granted, the honour of playing on Centre Court for the first (and last) time at Wimby, where he entertained us all going down in straight sets (6-3 6-4 7-6) to Andy Murray in his first-round match. (He and doubles partner Marc Gicquel also went down in their first-round match to Max Mirnyi & Jamie Murray.)

Errors
Errors don't get pix. Any guesses?

Andy Roddick
Surprise! (Not). Where has his forehand gone? Oh never mind.

James Blake
Surprise! (Not). Just as Roddick's play desolated Craig & Tangerine, James's play desolated me. I adore Blake, for taking sportsmanship to another level. But the heartbreak! Oh never mind.

Novak Djokovic
For most of us, this was definitely a surprise, and for many of us, a happy one. Maybe he won't be No. 1 in the world at the end of the year, as so many of his fawning followers (JMac is that you?) have so confidently predicted.


Marin Cilic

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.

Related Articles
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.]