Ernests Gulbis
Encyclopedia
Ernests Gulbis is a Latvia
n professional tennis
player. In 2008, Gulbis won his first ATP Tour doubles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
, teaming with Rainer Schüttler
, and in 2010 won his first ATP Tour singles title in the Delray Beach
, defeating Ivo Karlović
in the final. He won his second in July, 2011, by defeating Mardy Fish
in the final of the 2011 Farmers Classic
tournament, held in Los Angeles. His career highlights also include a 4th round appearance at the 2007 US Open and a quarterfinal appearance at the 2008 French Open
, as well as several other ATP World Tour semifinal appearances.
Gulbis' professional training in tennis began at the age of 12, when he was enrolled at the Niki Pilić Tennis Academy in Croatia. Beginning after Wimbledon 2011, Gulbis is being coached by Guillermo Cañas
. Previously, he was coached by Hernán Gumy
(who before that was Marat Safin
's coach), but their partnership ended due to Gumy's schedule; during that time, Darren Cahill
served as Gulbis' consultant for several tournaments. Before Gumy, Ernests was coached by Karl Heinz Wetter and subsequently Nikola Pilić
, the former professional Croatia
n tennis player and Croatian and German Davis Cup captain.
. His father, Ainārs, is an investment banker, while his mother, Milēna Gulbe-Kavace, is a theater actress. The second of six children, Gulbis has three sisters and two brothers, one of which is training in Florida to become a professional tennis player as well. Gulbis comes from a sporting family in general, and his grandfather, Alvils Gulbis
, was one of the starting five players on ASK Rīga, the Soviet Union basketball team that won the European Championships. His other grandfather, Uldis Pūcītis, was a popular actor and film director. He first started playing tennis with his grandmother and considers basketball, football and ice hockey to be his favorite sports.
Gulbis is known, both by his fellow tennis players and the media, as one of the funnier personalities on the tour. When Gulbis stunned world number 1 Roger Federer 2–6, 6–1, 7–5 at the 2010 Italian Open only after throwing away six previous match points, he told reporters after the match, "I shit my pants a little bit there . . . excuse my language," and has also bragged about his racquet-throwing "skills" in an on-court interview. On a telecast during the 2010 Western and Southern Financial Group Masters from Cincinnati, broadcasters Brad Gilbert
, Patrick McEnroe
and Chris Fowler
all compared Gulbis to former world number 1 Marat Safin, in terms of both playing style and attitude on and off court. Also like Safin, Gulbis often comments about his own lack of discipline and/or interest in practicing, but is very forthcoming about his aspirations of entering the top ten, five or even number one in the ATP rankings.
In 2009, Gulbis was arrested in Sweden for allegedly soliciting prostitutes. He he called it a misunderstanding. After paying a small fine, he was released in time to play in the Stockholm Open
.
Gulbis claims that he has never had a girlfriend, nor has he ever been in love.
Gulbis speaks Latvian, Russian, English and some German.
, reaching the final of the Tampere Challenger, also in July 2006, where he lost to Florian Mayer
, reaching the semi-finals of ATP St. Petersburg Open as a wildcard in October, where he lost to Mario Ančić
and winning the Eckental Challenger in November, where he defeated Philipp Petzschner
. In the 2008 US Open second round, Gulbis played a grueling 4 setter against Andy Roddick, yet lost. Later when interviewed, it was discovered that both he and his American opponent shared a birthday the moment the match rolled past midnight and into the early hours of the next day, August 30.
of Cyprus. He was subsequently defeated in the first qualifying round of the Australian Open
.
Gulbis was relatively successful on the Challenger circuit in 2007. He reached the quarterfinals in Bergamo (l. to Fabrice Santoro
) and the semifinals in Heilbronn (l. to Michaël Llodra
). Gulbis won his second Challenger title by triumphing over the local favorite, Klavs Bogdanovics, at the Besançon Challenger in France, enabling him to break into the ATP Top 100 for the first time in his career. In his next tournament, the Sarajevo Challenger, Gulbis emerged victorious in both the singles and doubles events.
In the first week of October, he won the Mons Challenger in Belgium (d. Kristof Vliegen
) as the top seed, breaking into the ATP Top 50 for the first time in his career and surpassing Juan Martín del Potro
as the highest-ranked player born in 1988. This win also meant a fourth, consecutive title, which drew some attention to him by tennis pundits.
Gulbis announced his arrival on the Grand Slam stage in the 2007 French Open
by defeating the British veteran, Tim Henman
in straight sets to advance to the second round. It was heralded by the British Davis Cup captain, John Lloyd, as "... a brilliant performance from Gulbis, that is just pure and utter talent." Gulbis' run was halted in the second round by Spaniard Álbert Montañés
, with a 1–6, 2–6, 6–1, 6–7 defeat, in a rain-interrupted match.
At Wimbledon
, his second Grand Slam participation, Gulbis again was drawn to face Marcos Baghdatis in the first round. He succeeded in winning the first set off the tenth-seeded Cypriot before succumbing in four sets. Gulbis debuted in Grand Slam doubles by teaming up with Ivan Ljubičić
, with whom he had reached the semi-finals of the 2007 Ordina Open
.
At the 2007 U.S. Open
, Gulbis upset the No. 30 seed, Potito Starace
, in the first round and the No. 8 seed, Tommy Robredo
, in the third round, winning by a convincing score of 6–1, 6–3, 6–2. In that match, Gulbis broke Robredo six times and had 39 winners to Robredo's seven. Gulbis' run was finally halted by former world Number 1, Carlos Moyà
, to whom he lost in four sets.
At the first round of the 2008 Australian Open
, Gulbis lost to Marat Safin
0–6, 4–6, 6–7. He reached the second round of the 2008 Pacific Life Open, where he lost a tight match to former Grand Slam finalist David Nalbandian
with the score of 6–4, 4–6, 7–6. In the first round of the 2008 Miami Masters
, he defeated Dominik Hrbatý
, but in the second round met eventual champion Nikolay Davydenko
. After winning the first set 6–3, he lost the following two sets in tiebreaks.
His biggest result up to that point occurred when he reached the quarterfinals of the 2008 French Open
. Throughout the tournament he beat Simon Greul
, seventh seed James Blake
, Nicolás Lapentti
and home-favourite Michaël Llodra
. In the quarterfinals he lost to third seed Novak Djokovic
5–7, 6–7, 5–7.
In his next tournament he reached the third round of the 2008 Queen's Club Championships
, beating Kristof Vliegen
and 12th seed Andreas Seppi
. He lost to 6th seed Andy Murray 7–5, 1–6, 4–6.
In the first round at Wimbledon, Gulbis defeated fellow rising star John Isner
, but lost in the 2nd round to the 2nd seed and eventual champion Rafael Nadal
with a score line of 5–7, 6–2, 7–6, 6–3 in a rain-interrupted match. Other than Roger Federer, he was the only player to take a set off the eventual champion.
At the 2008 Cincinnati Masters
, Gulbis defeated Jarkko Nieminen
, Arnaud Clément
, and James Blake
but succumbed in the quarterfinal to #3 seed Novak Djokovic
6–3, 6–4.
At the US Open, Gulbis defeated Thomas Johansson
in the first round before losing to Andy Roddick
in the second 3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 7–5. Coincidentally, it was his and Andy's birthday on the day they played.
6–4, 6–4 in the first round of the Brisbane International tournament before falling in the second round to Paul-Henri Mathieu
3–6, 4–6. He lost in the second round of 2009 Australian Open
to Igor Andreev
in 5 sets after beating Albert Montañés
in the first round in straight sets.
Gulbis was seeded 3rd heading into the 2009 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
, but was defeated in the 1st round by former World No. 8 Marcos Baghdatis. It was the fourth time he was drawn to face Baghdatis in the first round of a tournament.
Gulbis had a poor clay court season compared to 2008, failing to go deep in any of the tournaments preceding the French Open. Gulbis also failed to defend his quarterfinal appearance at the French Open, causing his ranking to drop to 67th, the lowest it had been since the summer of 2007.
At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
, Gulbis, unseeded, defeated Italian Riccardo Ghedin
6–2, 6–4, 6–4 in the first round before falling to third seeded Andy Murray of Great Britain 2–6, 5–7, 3–6.
Gulbis played in the Indianapolis Tennis Championships in singles and doubles. He lost to Marc Gicquel
of France in the first round. However, he entered in the doubles draw with Russian Dmitry Tursunov
and won the Championship. They played number one seeded Ashley Fisher and Jordan Kerr of Australia and won 6–4, 3–6, [11–9] in the final.
At the US Open, Gulbis was again drawn to play Andy Murray early in a grand slam, losing to the No. 2 seed 5–7, 3–6, 5–7 in the first round.
At the 2009 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, Gulbis advanced to the quarterfinals, upsetting 6th seed Radek Štěpánek
in the first round as a qualifier, then defeating top 20 player Juan Mónaco
in the second in straight sets. He lost to eventual champion and No. 2 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after taking the first set, 6–4, 4–6, 3–6.
The year saw a general decline in his ranking, with Gulbis failing to go deep in any of the grand slams, which was contrary to the expectations of many professionals and pundits.
precursor tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open
, defeating 6th seeded Spaniard Albert Montañés
6–2, 7–5, and subsequently Italian Andreas Seppi
6–4, 7–5. Gulbis progressed to the third round, where he was defeated in a tight match against world number 1 Roger Federer
2–6, 6–4, 4–6. At the 2010 Australian Open itself, Gulbis was ousted in the first round by 30th Seed Argentine Juan Mónaco
in straight sets.
In February, Gulbis reached his second career semifinal at an ATP 500 event, the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Tennessee. In the second round he defeated No. 3 seed Radek Štěpánek
, facing two, consecutive Czech players as he ousted No. 5 seed Tomáš Berdych
in the third round in a tight, three set match. He lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Sam Querrey
.
At the end of February he then competed in the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
, an outdoor hard court tournament, where he won his maiden ATP tour title. In the final, he faced 6'11" Croatian and No. 2 seed Ivo Karlović
, winning convincingly with a score line of 6–2, 6–3. With this victory, his ranking rose back into the top 50.
Gulbis' next tournament was the 2010 BNP Paribas Open
, an ATP 1000 Tier tournament. Gulbis defeated Swiss player Marco Chiudinelli
in the first round, but succumbed to No. 5 seed Nikolay Davydenko
6–4, 6–4 in the second round. Davydenko later withdrew from the tournament due to a wrist injury exacerbated during the match. Ernests did not compete in the Sony Ericsson Open, instead returning to Europe to train for the Clay season.
At his first claycourt tournament of the season, the ATP 1000 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Gulbis again defeated Swiss Marco Chiudinelli
in the first round, this time in straight sets, but lost to 13th seed Stanislas Wawrinka
in the second round, also in straight sets. At his next tournament, the ATP 500 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, Ernests reached the quarterfinals, defeating Peter Luczak
, Jérémy Chardy
and Albert Ramos-Viñolas
all in straight sets. He lost to in-form, eventual champion Fernando Verdasco
in the quarterfinals 2–6, 6–7, who had also made the finals of the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
just a week prior. With this result, Gulbis' ranking rose back into the top 40, and also pushed his career win-loss record past 50% for the first time in his career, his year to date win-loss record at 15–7.
At his next tournament, the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
in Rome, Gulbis was drawn to face Marcos Baghdatis in the first round of a tournament for the fifth time in his career, although for the first time on clay. He defeated Baghdatis for the first time with a convincing scoreline of 6–2, 6–2, which set up a match with number 1 seed and World No. 1 Roger Federer
. After losing the first set, Gulbis rallied to win the match 2–6, 6–1, 7–5, taking Federer on his seventh match point, which resulted in the biggest win in his career to date. In the third round, he backed up his win over Federer, with a battling 6–2, 3–6, 7–6 victory over Italian qualifier Filippo Volandri
. In the next round, Gulbis defeated Feliciano López
7–6, 6–1 to reach his first semifinal of an ATP 1000 Tier tournament, where he lost to Rafael Nadal
in a tight, three set match, hitting 50 winners and 59 errors throughout, with the scoreline 4–6, 6–3, 4–6, making Gulbis the first player to take a set off Nadal on clay this year. With his semifinal appearance, he assured himself a seeded position at the 2010 French Open
.
At the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
, Gulbis got off to a winning start against 2010 Estoril Open champion Albert Montañés
7–5, 6–1 in the first round. In the second round, he outplayed the 10th seed Mikhail Youzhny
in two sets 7–6, 6–4 and went on to beat Feliciano López
6–2, 7–6 for the second time this year. In the quarter-finals he faced World No.1 Roger Federer again, but lost 3–6, 6–1, 6–4.
Expectations were high for Gulbis as the former quarter finalist came into the 2010 French Open
seeded 23rd (ranked 27th) after having an incredible clay court season prior. However, Gulbis retired during the first round against the veteran Frenchman and World Number 38 Julien Benneteau
, who he had defeated earlier in the year, while trailing heavily 4–6, 2–6, 0–1r citing a hamstring injury.
Due to his injury sustained during the clay court season, Gulbis withdrew from Wimbledon
and its precursor tournaments, effectively missing the entire grass season.
Gulbis returned to the ATP in July, first competing in the 250 level Farmers Classic
in Los Angeles, California. He defeated Lukáš Lacko
in the first round in straight sets 7–5, 7–5 but lost to the in-form Alejandro Falla
in the round of 16 in three sets 6–4, 3–6, 6–7. He next played in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic
where he received a first round bye, but quickly retired in the second round to Ukrainian Illya Marchenko
, citing fatigue.
His next tournament was the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rogers Cup. He defeated world number 26 Thomaz Bellucci
in the first round easily, 6–1, 6–4, but fell to world number 5 and number 5 seed Robin Söderling
in the second round in a tight match, with the scoreline of 6–4, 4–6, 4–6. He then played the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Western & Southern Open, defeating Donald Young in the first round and 13th seed Jürgen Melzer
in the second, both in close matches: 7–6, 6–4 and 6–7, 6–3, 7–6 respectively. However, he fell in the third round to world number 4 Andy Murray in another tight encounter, with the scoreline of 6–3, 4–6, 6–7.
Gulbis lost in the first round of the US Open to Jérémy Chardy
of France in three sets, marking the fourth consecutive first round lost at a Grand Slam tournament. Gulbis then took three weeks off to play for the Latvian Davis Cup team against Poland (played on indoor carpet), winning both of his singles rubbers against Jerzy Janowicz
and Michal Przysiezny
. His next tournament was the PTT Thailand Open, a 250 level event. He received a bye through the first round and defeated Rainer Schüttler
in three sets, advancing to the quarter finals, where he fell to Guillermo García López
, also in three sets. He then played the Japan Open Tennis Championships
, also a 250 level event, but suffered an upset defeat at the hands of world number 432 Dmitry Tursunov
, losing 3–6, 4–6.
Gulbis suffered two more, consecutive first round losses at the hands of Richard Gasquet
, at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, and Novak Djokovic
, at the Swiss Indoors. However, in his final tournament of the season, he bounced back at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 even in Paris, the BNP Paribas Masters, where he dispatched world number 40 Juan Ignacio Chela
and world number 10 Mikhail Youzhny
, both in straight sets. He then fell to Andy Roddick
, also in straight sets: 3–6, 6–7.
Ernests Gulbis ended the year at a then-high number 24 in the world.
precursor tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open
, defeating Victor Hănescu
6–3, 7–6 and subsequently Croatian Antonio Veić
6–3, 6–1. Gulbis progressed to the quarterfinals, equaling his 2010 run, where he was defeated in a tight match against world number 1 Rafael Nadal
7–6, 6–3, having lost to Federer in three sets at the same stage, the prior year. Gulbis next played in the 2011 Medibank International Sydney
: he received a bye through the first round due to being seeded 3rd for the tournament, and defeated Russian Igor Andreev
in the second round in three sets. He then defeated fellow rising star Sergiy Stakhovsky
in the quarter finals 6–4, 6–4 before losing to eventual champion Gilles Simon
of France in the semifinals, 6–7, 6–0 citing fatigue as a cause for the lop-sided effort. As a result of his semi-final appearance his ranking rose to number 22 in the world.
His next tournament was the 2011 Australian Open
, where seeded 24th he lost in the first round to unseeded German Benjamin Becker
in straight sets, again citing fatigue and illness for his poor showing. It marked his fifth consecutive loss at a Grand Slam event. Gulbis then withdrew from his next three tournaments, his ranking momentarily rising to his personal best of 21 in the world due to Marin Čilić
failing to defend his points from the 2010 Australian Open. His ranking then dropped to number 24.
Gulbis returned to the tour in late February. His next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships
, an outdoor hard court tournament, which was held simultaneously with the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
, the tournament that Gulbis attained his first ATP title from; however, the Dubai Tennis Championships is a 500 level tournament, whereas the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships is a 250 level tournament, and given the much stronger field at Delray in 2011 than 2010, Dubai offered a stronger chance of maintaining or advancing in the rankings. In the first round, ranked 24th and seeded 8th, Gulbis won his first round match against wild card entrant and former doubles partner Michael Berrer
convincingly, 6–3, 6–4, despite having trouble with his first serve, giving away seven double faults throughout the match. Gulbis fell to Sergiy Stakhovsky
of Ukraine in the second round in three sets, despite having defeated him in their two previous meetings.
Gulbis' season did little to improve as he next played in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
, receiving a bye through the first round before struggling with Lu Yen-Hsun
, but ultimately prevailing, with the scoreline of 6–7, 7–6, 6–1. In the third round he was swiftly defeated by eventual winner Novak Djokovic
, 0–6, 1–6. He then proceeded to play the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open
(which Djokovic also won), receiving a bye through the first round, but losing in the second round to ATP-ranked #72 Carlos Berlocq
1–6, 6–2, 4–6. Ranked 30 going into the Monte-Carlo Masters
, he defeated the Ukrainian world number 21 Alexandr Dolgopolov in his first round in straight sets, before losing to Milos Raonic
in the second round, also in straight sets. Gulbis proceeded to lose in the first round of the 2011 Serbia Open
– also a clay court tournament – to Ukrainian Illya Marchenko
, in straight sets, 2–6, 4–6.
From late April to mid-May, Gulbis took three weeks off due to fatigue before competing in the 2011 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur
, placed in Nice, France, a 250 level outdoor clay court tournament. In his first two rounds, he defeated Fabio Fognini
and Denis Istomin
, both in three sets, before falling to world number 6 Tomáš Berdych
in the quarter finals, 1–6, 4–6. From there, Gulbis' playing deteriorated further as his ranking dropped from 30 to 85 during the clay court season, failing to defend his deep runs in 2010. He proceeded to lose his next four matches in a row: against Blaž Kavčič
at the French Open, against Adrian Mannarino
at the Queen's Club Championships
, against Dmitri Tursunov at Wimbledon
(which marked his seventh, consecutive first round exit at a slam, and after which he took nearly a month off from tennis to train with his new coach), and against former world number 4 James Blake
at the Atlanta Tennis Championships
.
However, Gulbis won his second ATP title at the Farmers Classic
in Los Angeles, where he snapped his five-match losing streak by defeating 5th seed Belgian Xavier Malisse
in the first-round, 2–6, 6–3, 7–6 followed by American qualifier Daniel Kosakowski in straight sets. In the quarter finals he defeated Juan Martín Del Potro
with relative ease, 6–2, 6–4, before defeating American Alex Bogomolov, Jr.
in the semifinals. He faced No. 1 seed and No. 9 ranked Mardy Fish
in the finals; after double-faulting to hand Fish the first set, he rallied to win the championship match 5–7, 6–4, 6–4.
Gulbis received a wildcard entry into the 2011 Rogers Cup. He defeated former world no. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero
in three sets in the first round, and proceeded to defeat Michaël Llodra
in the second round after Llodra retired, 6–4, 1–0. In the third round he fell to eventual finalist Mardy Fish
, who he had recently defeated, in another tight three-setter, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6. He then qualified for the 2011 Cincinnati Masters
, where he lost to Croatian Ivan Dodig
in two sets, 3–6, 6–7(3). He reached the second round of the US Open
but lost to Gilles Muller
6-3, 6(4)-7, 4-6, 6(5)-7. He was later fined US$2,000 for improper coaching by the USTA
.
ties for Latvia in 2009, winning all seven of the rubbers in which he participated (4 singles; 3 doubles with Deniss Pavlovs
). His participation in the tie against Monaco
in September helped Latvia to qualify for the Europe/Africa Zone Group I tier of Davis Cup for the first time in its history.
In 2010, Gulbis continued to support the Latvian Davis Cup team, playing against Poland, where he won both of his singles rubbers.
and drop shot
, both of which he can strike from any position, including from deep in the court. Gulbis employs the drop shot consistently and often, sometimes to the point of derision. Gulbis plays an extremely aggressive, winner-driven game, which often leads to a high unforced error count, making his consistency an issue in tough matches, often causing him to be likened to Marat Safin
. His aggressive baseline game is coupled with an extremely powerful serve, often reaching the upper 130's and low 140's in mph; however, Gulbis has struggled with his second serve, and often has high double fault statistics across the ATP leader board. Despite playing a style more attuned to fast surfaces, his strong showing at the 2008 French Open
and his win over Federer on clay are attributed to his powerful and flat strokes which can play through the surface. Gulbis' primary weaknesses are his second serve, his consistency and his nerves; despite a strong serve and return, Gulbis has poor break point conversion, break point save and tie-break statistics, having on numerous occasions made strings of uncharacteristic unforced errors when serving or returning for sets or matches, as well as hitting numerous "easy" slams well out in tough situations, something he has become known for and often jokes about in interviews.
As of January 2011, Gulbis uses a Wilson
BLX racquet after switching from Head
. His strings are Pacific Poly Force 17 strung at 62 lbs. Gulbis uses Tourna grip on a white Hydrocontrol grip. He is endorsed by adidas
for his attire.
.
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n professional tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player. In 2008, Gulbis won his first ATP Tour doubles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts....
, teaming with Rainer Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler is a German professional tennis player, ranked World No. 113 in the ATP rankings. He is the last German player who reached a final in a grand slam tournament....
, and in 2010 won his first ATP Tour singles title in the Delray Beach
Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
The International Tennis Championships is an ATP World Tour 250 series men's tennis tournament held every year in Delray Beach, Florida, and played on hard courts. The event was held in Coral Springs from 1993–1998; in 1999, it was relocated to the Delray Beach Tennis Center...
, defeating Ivo Karlović
Ivo Karlovic
Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm . He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h ...
in the final. He won his second in July, 2011, by defeating Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
in the final of the 2011 Farmers Classic
2011 Farmers Classic
The 2011 Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Los Angeles. It was the 85th edition of the Los Angeles Open, and was part of the Olympus US Open Series of the 2011 ATP World Tour...
tournament, held in Los Angeles. His career highlights also include a 4th round appearance at the 2007 US Open and a quarterfinal appearance at the 2008 French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
, as well as several other ATP World Tour semifinal appearances.
Gulbis' professional training in tennis began at the age of 12, when he was enrolled at the Niki Pilić Tennis Academy in Croatia. Beginning after Wimbledon 2011, Gulbis is being coached by Guillermo Cañas
Guillermo Cañas
Guillermo Ignacio Cañas , often referred to as Willy Cañas, is a retired Argentine professional tennis player. He was born in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, and named after Argentine tennis star Guillermo Vilas. His highest singles ranking was 8th . After retirement Cañas took on coaching, he...
. Previously, he was coached by Hernán Gumy
Hernan Gumy
Hernán Gumy is a former tennis player from Argentina, who turned professional in 1991. He represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was defeated in the first round by Venezuela's Nicolas Pereira. Gumy made two finals in his career; both of them ATP...
(who before that was Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
's coach), but their partnership ended due to Gumy's schedule; during that time, Darren Cahill
Darren Cahill
Darren Cahill is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Australia.Nicknamed "Killer", Cahill turned professional in 1984...
served as Gulbis' consultant for several tournaments. Before Gumy, Ernests was coached by Karl Heinz Wetter and subsequently Nikola Pilić
Nikola Pilic
Nikola "Niki" Pilić is a retired Croatian professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia. He was one of the Handsome Eight.-Biography:...
, the former professional Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n tennis player and Croatian and German Davis Cup captain.
Personal life
Gulbis comes from a very wealthy family.His book-collecting parents named his after Ernest HemingwayErnest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
. His father, Ainārs, is an investment banker, while his mother, Milēna Gulbe-Kavace, is a theater actress. The second of six children, Gulbis has three sisters and two brothers, one of which is training in Florida to become a professional tennis player as well. Gulbis comes from a sporting family in general, and his grandfather, Alvils Gulbis
Alvils Gulbis
Alvils Gulbis is a retired Latvian basketball player.He played for ASK Riga winning 3 Euroleague titles and 3 national championships .His grandson Ernests is a professional tennis player....
, was one of the starting five players on ASK Rīga, the Soviet Union basketball team that won the European Championships. His other grandfather, Uldis Pūcītis, was a popular actor and film director. He first started playing tennis with his grandmother and considers basketball, football and ice hockey to be his favorite sports.
Gulbis is known, both by his fellow tennis players and the media, as one of the funnier personalities on the tour. When Gulbis stunned world number 1 Roger Federer 2–6, 6–1, 7–5 at the 2010 Italian Open only after throwing away six previous match points, he told reporters after the match, "I shit my pants a little bit there . . . excuse my language," and has also bragged about his racquet-throwing "skills" in an on-court interview. On a telecast during the 2010 Western and Southern Financial Group Masters from Cincinnati, broadcasters Brad Gilbert
Brad Gilbert
Brad Gilbert , is an American tennis coach, a television tennis commentator, an author and former professional tennis player. He was born in Oakland, California and graduated from Piedmont High School ....
, Patrick McEnroe
Patrick McEnroe
Patrick John McEnroe is a former professional tennis player and the former captain of the United States Davis Cup team.Born in Manhasset, New York, he is the younger brother of John McEnroe...
and Chris Fowler
Chris Fowler
Chris Fowler is a sports broadcaster for ESPN known best for his work on College GameDay for college football. Since 1989, Fowler has been the primary studio host for college football. Until 2006, he was also the lead studio host for men's college basketball on ESPN...
all compared Gulbis to former world number 1 Marat Safin, in terms of both playing style and attitude on and off court. Also like Safin, Gulbis often comments about his own lack of discipline and/or interest in practicing, but is very forthcoming about his aspirations of entering the top ten, five or even number one in the ATP rankings.
In 2009, Gulbis was arrested in Sweden for allegedly soliciting prostitutes. He he called it a misunderstanding. After paying a small fine, he was released in time to play in the Stockholm Open
Stockholm Open
The If Stockholm Open is a tennis event on the ATP Tour held in Stockholm, Sweden in the end of October or beginning of November each year. The organizer of the tournament is The Royal Lawn Tennis Club of Stockholm....
.
Gulbis claims that he has never had a girlfriend, nor has he ever been in love.
Gulbis speaks Latvian, Russian, English and some German.
Tennis career
The highlights of his career up to 2006 included reaching the final of the Oberstaufen Challenger in July 2006, where he lost to Michal TabaraMichal Tabara
Michal Tabara is a tennis player from the Czech Republic, who turned professional in 1997. The right-hander has won one singles title so far in his career. Tabara reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on July 23, 2001, when he became world number 47.Tabara was involved in a minor controversy at...
, reaching the final of the Tampere Challenger, also in July 2006, where he lost to Florian Mayer
Florian Mayer
Florian Mayer is a German professional tennis player. He plays on both the ATP Tour and the Challenger Tour. He has won nine Challenger events, which has helped him stay in the top 50 on the rankings....
, reaching the semi-finals of ATP St. Petersburg Open as a wildcard in October, where he lost to Mario Ančić
Mario Ancic
Mario Ančić is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His highest international ranking came during the 2006 ATP Tour, when he reached no. 7 in singles...
and winning the Eckental Challenger in November, where he defeated Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner is a professional German tennis player. He is known for his hard-hitting and incredible bursts of speed around the court, and now for controversy in the US Open Men's Doubles Final which he won partnered with Jurgen Melzer against the Polish team of Fystenberg/Matkowski...
. In the 2008 US Open second round, Gulbis played a grueling 4 setter against Andy Roddick, yet lost. Later when interviewed, it was discovered that both he and his American opponent shared a birthday the moment the match rolled past midnight and into the early hours of the next day, August 30.
2007
Gulbis started his season as a qualifier in the Sydney Medibank International, losing in the first round to Marcos BaghdatisMarcos Baghdatis
At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1...
of Cyprus. He was subsequently defeated in the first qualifying round of the Australian Open
2007 Australian Open
The 2007 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 15 January until 28 January 2007.The total prize pool was set at exactly A$20 million, with the winners of both the men's and women's singles competition each receiving A$1,281,000. Over 500 players...
.
Gulbis was relatively successful on the Challenger circuit in 2007. He reached the quarterfinals in Bergamo (l. to Fabrice Santoro
Fabrice Santoro
Fabrice Vetea Santoro is a retired French professional male tennis player from Tahiti. Though not counted among the top ranked players, he had an unusually long professional career – with many of his accomplishments coming toward the end of his career – and he is popular among spectators and other...
) and the semifinals in Heilbronn (l. to Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...
). Gulbis won his second Challenger title by triumphing over the local favorite, Klavs Bogdanovics, at the Besançon Challenger in France, enabling him to break into the ATP Top 100 for the first time in his career. In his next tournament, the Sarajevo Challenger, Gulbis emerged victorious in both the singles and doubles events.
In the first week of October, he won the Mons Challenger in Belgium (d. Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen is a former Belgian tennis player. He plays right-handed and he turned professional in 2001.He was a semi-finalist in Chennai in 2006 and in May of the same year, he reached the final of the ATP tournament in Munich, setting up the first ever all-Belgian men's singles final against...
) as the top seed, breaking into the ATP Top 50 for the first time in his career and surpassing Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
as the highest-ranked player born in 1988. This win also meant a fourth, consecutive title, which drew some attention to him by tennis pundits.
Grand Slam debut
2007 French Open
The 2007 French Open was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Followed two weeks later, as usual, by Wimbledon in London, United Kingdom. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run...
by defeating the British veteran, Tim Henman
Tim Henman
Timothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE is a retired English professional tennis player and former British Number One. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis that suited the grass courts of Wimbledon. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the...
in straight sets to advance to the second round. It was heralded by the British Davis Cup captain, John Lloyd, as "... a brilliant performance from Gulbis, that is just pure and utter talent." Gulbis' run was halted in the second round by Spaniard Álbert Montañés
Álbert Montañés
Albert Montañés Roca is a professional tennis player from Spain.He first entered the top-100 in 2001 and has been in the top-100 for all but 20 weeks since then...
, with a 1–6, 2–6, 6–1, 6–7 defeat, in a rain-interrupted match.
At Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, his second Grand Slam participation, Gulbis again was drawn to face Marcos Baghdatis in the first round. He succeeded in winning the first set off the tenth-seeded Cypriot before succumbing in four sets. Gulbis debuted in Grand Slam doubles by teaming up with Ivan Ljubičić
Ivan Ljubicic
----Ivan Ljubičić is a Croatian tennis player born in Bosnia and Herzegovina . His career-high ATP ranking to date has been no. 3, and he stands at no. 37....
, with whom he had reached the semi-finals of the 2007 Ordina Open
Ordina Open
The Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, now sponsored by UNICEF and called the UNICEF Open, is a tennis tournament on the ATP Tour and WTA Tour held in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.-Singles:-Doubles:-Singles:-Doubles:-External links:*...
.
At the 2007 U.S. Open
2007 U.S. Open (tennis)
The 2007 US Open was held from 27 August to 9 September 2007, at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City....
, Gulbis upset the No. 30 seed, Potito Starace
Potito Starace
Potito Starace is an Italian professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. He achieved his career-high ranking of 27th on October 15, 2007 and prefers to play on red clay...
, in the first round and the No. 8 seed, Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No...
, in the third round, winning by a convincing score of 6–1, 6–3, 6–2. In that match, Gulbis broke Robredo six times and had 39 winners to Robredo's seven. Gulbis' run was finally halted by former world Number 1, Carlos Moyà
Carlos Moyá
Carlos Moya Llompart is a retired former world no. 1 tennis player from Spain. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he helped his country win the Davis Cup. He currently resides in Switzerland...
, to whom he lost in four sets.
2008
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
, Gulbis lost to Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
0–6, 4–6, 6–7. He reached the second round of the 2008 Pacific Life Open, where he lost a tight match to former Grand Slam finalist David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
with the score of 6–4, 4–6, 7–6. In the first round of the 2008 Miami Masters
2008 Miami Masters
The 2008 Miami Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Miami Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
, he defeated Dominik Hrbatý
Dominik Hrbatý
Dominik Hrbatý is a retired professional tennis player from Slovakia.-Personal life:Hrbatý was born on 4 January 1978 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. His father was an architecture engineer and his younger brother is an umpire...
, but in the second round met eventual champion Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
. After winning the first set 6–3, he lost the following two sets in tiebreaks.
His biggest result up to that point occurred when he reached the quarterfinals of the 2008 French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
. Throughout the tournament he beat Simon Greul
Simon Greul
Simon Greul is a German male tennis player born April 13, 1981. He is 6'1" tall and weighs 176 lbs . His career high rank was #55, achieved on March 22, 2010.-Career:...
, seventh seed James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
, Nicolás Lapentti
Nicolás Lapentti
----Nicolás Alexander Lapentti Gómez is a former professional tennis player from Ecuador who is ranked 214th...
and home-favourite Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...
. In the quarterfinals he lost to third seed Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
5–7, 6–7, 5–7.
In his next tournament he reached the third round of the 2008 Queen's Club Championships
2008 Queen's Club Championships
The 2008 Artois Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 37th edition of the Artois Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
, beating Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen is a former Belgian tennis player. He plays right-handed and he turned professional in 2001.He was a semi-finalist in Chennai in 2006 and in May of the same year, he reached the final of the ATP tournament in Munich, setting up the first ever all-Belgian men's singles final against...
and 12th seed Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi is a professional tennis player from South Tyrol, northern Italy, who turned professional in 2000. He considers clay and hard courts his favourite surfaces. and is coached by Massimo Sartori....
. He lost to 6th seed Andy Murray 7–5, 1–6, 4–6.
In the first round at Wimbledon, Gulbis defeated fellow rising star John Isner
John Isner
John Robert Isner is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 18 on July 5, 2010, and has been as high as the second-ranked American tennis player behind Andy Roddick...
, but lost in the 2nd round to the 2nd seed and eventual champion Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
with a score line of 5–7, 6–2, 7–6, 6–3 in a rain-interrupted match. Other than Roger Federer, he was the only player to take a set off the eventual champion.
At the 2008 Cincinnati Masters
2008 Cincinnati Masters
The 2008 Cincinnati Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts...
, Gulbis defeated Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen is a professional tennis player from Finland.His highest ranking is 13th, which was achieved on July 10, 2006. He has won one ATP singles title and two doubles titles in his career so far. His best performances in Grand Slam tournaments have been reaching the quarter-finals...
, Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément is a professional tennis player from France. His best achievement is reaching the final of the 2001 Australian Open.-Career:Clément was born in Aix-en-Provence, and currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland...
, and James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
but succumbed in the quarterfinal to #3 seed Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
6–3, 6–4.
At the US Open, Gulbis defeated Thomas Johansson
Thomas Johansson
Karl Thomas Conny Johansson , commonly known as Thomas Johansson, is a former Swedish professional tennis player. He is a former Australian Open singles champion and Olympic silver medalist in doubles.-Junior career:...
in the first round before losing to Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
in the second 3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 7–5. Coincidentally, it was his and Andy's birthday on the day they played.
2009
Gulbis began the year strongly by defeating former training partner Novak DjokovicNovak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
6–4, 6–4 in the first round of the Brisbane International tournament before falling in the second round to Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu is a French tennis player.-Tennis career:Mathieu was born in Strasbourg, France. He first began playing tennis at age 3, with his older brother Pierre-Yves. Between 1997 and 2000 he trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida...
3–6, 4–6. He lost in the second round of 2009 Australian Open
2009 Australian Open
The 2009 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 97th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 19 January through 1 February 2009. The 2009 men's...
to Igor Andreev
Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.-2003:Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.At the...
in 5 sets after beating Albert Montañés
Álbert Montañés
Albert Montañés Roca is a professional tennis player from Spain.He first entered the top-100 in 2001 and has been in the top-100 for all but 20 weeks since then...
in the first round in straight sets.
Gulbis was seeded 3rd heading into the 2009 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
The International Tennis Championships is an ATP World Tour 250 series men's tennis tournament held every year in Delray Beach, Florida, and played on hard courts. The event was held in Coral Springs from 1993–1998; in 1999, it was relocated to the Delray Beach Tennis Center...
, but was defeated in the 1st round by former World No. 8 Marcos Baghdatis. It was the fourth time he was drawn to face Baghdatis in the first round of a tournament.
Gulbis had a poor clay court season compared to 2008, failing to go deep in any of the tournaments preceding the French Open. Gulbis also failed to defend his quarterfinal appearance at the French Open, causing his ranking to drop to 67th, the lowest it had been since the summer of 2007.
At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
2009 Wimbledon Championships
The 2009 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, from Monday 22 June through to Sunday 5 July 2009...
, Gulbis, unseeded, defeated Italian Riccardo Ghedin
Riccardo Ghedin
Riccardo Ghedin is an Italian tennis player.Ghedin qualified for the 2009 Wimbledon Championships and lost in the first round of the main draw to Latvian Ernests Gulbis 2-6, 4-6, 4-6....
6–2, 6–4, 6–4 in the first round before falling to third seeded Andy Murray of Great Britain 2–6, 5–7, 3–6.
Gulbis played in the Indianapolis Tennis Championships in singles and doubles. He lost to Marc Gicquel
Marc Gicquel
Marc Gicquel is a professional male tennis player from France. He turned pro in 1999.-Tennis career:...
of France in the first round. However, he entered in the doubles draw with Russian Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player....
and won the Championship. They played number one seeded Ashley Fisher and Jordan Kerr of Australia and won 6–4, 3–6, [11–9] in the final.
At the US Open, Gulbis was again drawn to play Andy Murray early in a grand slam, losing to the No. 2 seed 5–7, 3–6, 5–7 in the first round.
At the 2009 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, Gulbis advanced to the quarterfinals, upsetting 6th seed Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
in the first round as a qualifier, then defeating top 20 player Juan Mónaco
Juan Mónaco
Juan Mónaco , nicknamed "Pico", is a male tennis player from Argentina. He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 14 on February 4, 2008. He is sponsored by Adidas and Yonex.-Biography:...
in the second in straight sets. He lost to eventual champion and No. 2 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after taking the first set, 6–4, 4–6, 3–6.
The year saw a general decline in his ranking, with Gulbis failing to go deep in any of the grand slams, which was contrary to the expectations of many professionals and pundits.
2010
To begin the year, Gulbis claimed wins in the first two rounds of the Australian OpenAustralian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
precursor tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
The Qatar Open, currently known as the Qatar ExxonMobil Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour...
, defeating 6th seeded Spaniard Albert Montañés
Álbert Montañés
Albert Montañés Roca is a professional tennis player from Spain.He first entered the top-100 in 2001 and has been in the top-100 for all but 20 weeks since then...
6–2, 7–5, and subsequently Italian Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi is a professional tennis player from South Tyrol, northern Italy, who turned professional in 2000. He considers clay and hard courts his favourite surfaces. and is coached by Massimo Sartori....
6–4, 7–5. Gulbis progressed to the third round, where he was defeated in a tight match against world number 1 Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
2–6, 6–4, 4–6. At the 2010 Australian Open itself, Gulbis was ousted in the first round by 30th Seed Argentine Juan Mónaco
Juan Mónaco
Juan Mónaco , nicknamed "Pico", is a male tennis player from Argentina. He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 14 on February 4, 2008. He is sponsored by Adidas and Yonex.-Biography:...
in straight sets.
In February, Gulbis reached his second career semifinal at an ATP 500 event, the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Tennessee. In the second round he defeated No. 3 seed Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
, facing two, consecutive Czech players as he ousted No. 5 seed Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
in the third round in a tight, three set match. He lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Sam Querrey
Sam Querrey
Sam Austin Querrey is a professional American tennis player from Thousand Oaks, California currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of August 2010, he is the fourth-highest ranked American. His career high rank was #17, achieved on January 31, 2011. His height allows him to play with a strong...
.
At the end of February he then competed in the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
The International Tennis Championships is an ATP World Tour 250 series men's tennis tournament held every year in Delray Beach, Florida, and played on hard courts. The event was held in Coral Springs from 1993–1998; in 1999, it was relocated to the Delray Beach Tennis Center...
, an outdoor hard court tournament, where he won his maiden ATP tour title. In the final, he faced 6'11" Croatian and No. 2 seed Ivo Karlović
Ivo Karlovic
Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm . He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h ...
, winning convincingly with a score line of 6–2, 6–3. With this victory, his ranking rose back into the top 50.
Gulbis' next tournament was the 2010 BNP Paribas Open
2010 BNP Paribas Open
The 2010 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2010. It was the 36th edition of the event, known this year as the BNP Paribas Open, and is classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on...
, an ATP 1000 Tier tournament. Gulbis defeated Swiss player Marco Chiudinelli
Marco Chiudinelli
Marco Chiudinelli is a tennis player from Switzerland.-Biography:Marco is the only child of father Lorenzo Chiudinelli and mother Reni, . Marco grew up in Münchenstein in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. He visited schools in Münchenstein and Basel...
in the first round, but succumbed to No. 5 seed Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
6–4, 6–4 in the second round. Davydenko later withdrew from the tournament due to a wrist injury exacerbated during the match. Ernests did not compete in the Sony Ericsson Open, instead returning to Europe to train for the Clay season.
At his first claycourt tournament of the season, the ATP 1000 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Gulbis again defeated Swiss Marco Chiudinelli
Marco Chiudinelli
Marco Chiudinelli is a tennis player from Switzerland.-Biography:Marco is the only child of father Lorenzo Chiudinelli and mother Reni, . Marco grew up in Münchenstein in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. He visited schools in Münchenstein and Basel...
in the first round, this time in straight sets, but lost to 13th seed Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...
in the second round, also in straight sets. At his next tournament, the ATP 500 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, Ernests reached the quarterfinals, defeating Peter Luczak
Peter Luczak
Peter Luczak is a professional tennis player for Australia. His career-high ATP Entry ranking was No. 64 on 12 October 2009.At the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi, Luczak won the gold in the doubles....
, Jérémy Chardy
Jérémy Chardy
Jérémy Chardy is a French professional tennis player. He won the 2005 Wimbledon Championships Boys' Singles title, and finished as the runner-up at the 2005 US Open Boys' Singles, losing to Ryan Sweeting. His career high rank is no...
and Albert Ramos-Viñolas
Albert Ramos-Viñolas
Albert Ramos Viñolas is a Spanish tennis player. He has a career high-ranking of 87 ....
all in straight sets. He lost to in-form, eventual champion Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
in the quarterfinals 2–6, 6–7, who had also made the finals of the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
The 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, a tennis tournament for male professional players, was played from April 10 through April 18, 2010, on outdoor clay courts. It was the 104th edition of the annual Monte Carlo Masters tournament, which is sponsored by Rolex for the second time...
just a week prior. With this result, Gulbis' ranking rose back into the top 40, and also pushed his career win-loss record past 50% for the first time in his career, his year to date win-loss record at 15–7.
At his next tournament, the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 67th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2010 WTA Tour...
in Rome, Gulbis was drawn to face Marcos Baghdatis in the first round of a tournament for the fifth time in his career, although for the first time on clay. He defeated Baghdatis for the first time with a convincing scoreline of 6–2, 6–2, which set up a match with number 1 seed and World No. 1 Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
. After losing the first set, Gulbis rallied to win the match 2–6, 6–1, 7–5, taking Federer on his seventh match point, which resulted in the biggest win in his career to date. In the third round, he backed up his win over Federer, with a battling 6–2, 3–6, 7–6 victory over Italian qualifier Filippo Volandri
Filippo Volandri
Filippo Volandri is an Italian professional male tennis player. Volandri is a right-handed player who reached a career-high ranking of 25 on July 23, 2007. He turned pro in 1997, and as of January 2006, had earned over $1,300,000 in prize money...
. In the next round, Gulbis defeated Feliciano López
Feliciano López
Feliciano López Diaz-Guerra is a Spanish professional male tennis player. He was born in Toledo and now lives in the Spanish capital Madrid....
7–6, 6–1 to reach his first semifinal of an ATP 1000 Tier tournament, where he lost to Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
in a tight, three set match, hitting 50 winners and 59 errors throughout, with the scoreline 4–6, 6–3, 4–6, making Gulbis the first player to take a set off Nadal on clay this year. With his semifinal appearance, he assured himself a seeded position at the 2010 French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
.
At the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
The 2010 Madrid Masters was played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from May 7 – May 16. It was the 9th edition of the event on the ATP and 2nd on the WTA...
, Gulbis got off to a winning start against 2010 Estoril Open champion Albert Montañés
Álbert Montañés
Albert Montañés Roca is a professional tennis player from Spain.He first entered the top-100 in 2001 and has been in the top-100 for all but 20 weeks since then...
7–5, 6–1 in the first round. In the second round, he outplayed the 10th seed Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....
in two sets 7–6, 6–4 and went on to beat Feliciano López
Feliciano López
Feliciano López Diaz-Guerra is a Spanish professional male tennis player. He was born in Toledo and now lives in the Spanish capital Madrid....
6–2, 7–6 for the second time this year. In the quarter-finals he faced World No.1 Roger Federer again, but lost 3–6, 6–1, 6–4.
Expectations were high for Gulbis as the former quarter finalist came into the 2010 French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
seeded 23rd (ranked 27th) after having an incredible clay court season prior. However, Gulbis retired during the first round against the veteran Frenchman and World Number 38 Julien Benneteau
Julien Benneteau
Julien Benneteau is a professional male tennis player from France. His career-best singles ranking is ATP world no. 32, which he reached in July 2010. He formerly resided in Boulogne Billancourt and now lives in Geneva...
, who he had defeated earlier in the year, while trailing heavily 4–6, 2–6, 0–1r citing a hamstring injury.
Due to his injury sustained during the clay court season, Gulbis withdrew from Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
and its precursor tournaments, effectively missing the entire grass season.
Gulbis returned to the ATP in July, first competing in the 250 level Farmers Classic
Los Angeles Open (tennis)
The Los Angeles Open and formerly known as the Countrywide Classic, Los Angeles Tennis Open, Pacific South West Open, and other sponsored names, is an ATP World Tour 250 series tennis tournament on the ATP Tour held in Los Angeles, California, United States...
in Los Angeles, California. He defeated Lukáš Lacko
Lukáš Lacko
Lukáš Lacko is a professional Slovak tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking was 60, which he reached on February 22, 2010. His career high doubles ranking was 213 on November 30, 2009.- Tennis career :...
in the first round in straight sets 7–5, 7–5 but lost to the in-form Alejandro Falla
Alejandro Falla
Alejandro Falla Ramirez is a professional male tennis player from Colombia. He turned pro in 2000, plays left-handed, weighs 169 lb and measures 6'1" . At the 2006 Wimbledon tournament, Falla upset 9th seed Nikolay Davydenko and at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open he beat 9th seed Tommy Haas in...
in the round of 16 in three sets 6–4, 3–6, 6–7. He next played in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic
Legg Mason Tennis Classic
The Legg Mason Tennis Classic is an annual late-summer men's tennis tournament played in Washington, D.C. as part of the ATP Tour. It was first held in 1969. It was later known as the Sovran Bank Classic. . Originally an event of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour and part of the Grand Prix Championship...
where he received a first round bye, but quickly retired in the second round to Ukrainian Illya Marchenko
Illya Marchenko
Illya Marchenko is a Ukrainian male tennis player. Marchenko turned professional in 2005 and had been playing at the Futures and Challengers level from 2005–2008. His career high in singles is #67 and he is inactive in doubles...
, citing fatigue.
His next tournament was the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rogers Cup. He defeated world number 26 Thomaz Bellucci
Thomaz Bellucci
Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci , a professional tennis player, is the top ranked Brazilian tennis player. He achieved a career high ranking of #21 on July 26, 2010....
in the first round easily, 6–1, 6–4, but fell to world number 5 and number 5 seed Robin Söderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...
in the second round in a tight match, with the scoreline of 6–4, 4–6, 4–6. He then played the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Western & Southern Open, defeating Donald Young in the first round and 13th seed Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of no. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of no. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but...
in the second, both in close matches: 7–6, 6–4 and 6–7, 6–3, 7–6 respectively. However, he fell in the third round to world number 4 Andy Murray in another tight encounter, with the scoreline of 6–3, 4–6, 6–7.
Gulbis lost in the first round of the US Open to Jérémy Chardy
Jérémy Chardy
Jérémy Chardy is a French professional tennis player. He won the 2005 Wimbledon Championships Boys' Singles title, and finished as the runner-up at the 2005 US Open Boys' Singles, losing to Ryan Sweeting. His career high rank is no...
of France in three sets, marking the fourth consecutive first round lost at a Grand Slam tournament. Gulbis then took three weeks off to play for the Latvian Davis Cup team against Poland (played on indoor carpet), winning both of his singles rubbers against Jerzy Janowicz
Jerzy Janowicz
Jerzy Janowicz is a Polish professional tennis player. As of November 15, 2010 Janowicz was ranked third among Polish players behind L. Kubot and M. Przysiezny Jerzy Janowicz is a Polish professional tennis player. As of November 15, 2010 Janowicz was ranked third among Polish players behind...
and Michal Przysiezny
Michal Przysiezny
Michał Przysiężny is a Polish tennis player. He has a career high-ranking of 76 . His current coach is Aleksander Charpantidis.-Career:He started his career in the KKT Wrocław...
. His next tournament was the PTT Thailand Open, a 250 level event. He received a bye through the first round and defeated Rainer Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler is a German professional tennis player, ranked World No. 113 in the ATP rankings. He is the last German player who reached a final in a grand slam tournament....
in three sets, advancing to the quarter finals, where he fell to Guillermo García López
Guillermo Garcia Lopez
Guillermo García López is a professional male tennis player from Spain.He is good friends with fellow Spanish tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero, and both train at the JC Ferrero Equelite Tennis Academy in Villena, Spain.- Professional career :On November 23, 2009, García-López achieved his...
, also in three sets. He then played the Japan Open Tennis Championships
Japan Open Tennis Championships
The Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships is a tennis tournament held in Ariake Tennis Forest Park with its center court Ariake Coliseum, located in Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan. The championship includes both men's and women's, as well as singles and doubles competitions...
, also a 250 level event, but suffered an upset defeat at the hands of world number 432 Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player....
, losing 3–6, 4–6.
Gulbis suffered two more, consecutive first round losses at the hands of Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year...
, at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, and Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, at the Swiss Indoors. However, in his final tournament of the season, he bounced back at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 even in Paris, the BNP Paribas Masters, where he dispatched world number 40 Juan Ignacio Chela
Juan Ignacio Chela
Juan Ignacio Chela is a professional male tennis player from Argentina. Like most Argentine players he is comfortable on Clay courts and owns all six of his career titles on the surface...
and world number 10 Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....
, both in straight sets. He then fell to Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
, also in straight sets: 3–6, 6–7.
Ernests Gulbis ended the year at a then-high number 24 in the world.
2011
To begin the year, Gulbis claimed wins in the first two rounds of the Australian OpenAustralian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
precursor tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
The Qatar Open, currently known as the Qatar ExxonMobil Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour...
, defeating Victor Hănescu
Victor Hanescu
Victor Hănescu is a Romanian tennis player. He achieved his career high rank of no. 26 on July 6, 2009.- Professional career :...
6–3, 7–6 and subsequently Croatian Antonio Veić
Antonio Veic
Antonio Veić is a professional Croatian tennis player. His highest singles ranking is 183, which was reached on February 1, 2010.- 2009 :...
6–3, 6–1. Gulbis progressed to the quarterfinals, equaling his 2010 run, where he was defeated in a tight match against world number 1 Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
7–6, 6–3, having lost to Federer in three sets at the same stage, the prior year. Gulbis next played in the 2011 Medibank International Sydney
2011 Medibank International Sydney
The 2011 Medibank International Sydney was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Medibank International Sydney, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
: he received a bye through the first round due to being seeded 3rd for the tournament, and defeated Russian Igor Andreev
Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.-2003:Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.At the...
in the second round in three sets. He then defeated fellow rising star Sergiy Stakhovsky
Sergiy Stakhovsky
Sergiy Stakhovsky is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. Stakhovsky turned professional in 2003 and had been playing mostly at the Challenger level from 2005–2008. His career high in singles of #31 and his high of #86 in doubles...
in the quarter finals 6–4, 6–4 before losing to eventual champion Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
of France in the semifinals, 6–7, 6–0 citing fatigue as a cause for the lop-sided effort. As a result of his semi-final appearance his ranking rose to number 22 in the world.
His next tournament was the 2011 Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
, where seeded 24th he lost in the first round to unseeded German Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker is a German professional tennis player. Becker's primary weapon is a very big serve that he can hit at up to 220km/h, along with powerful groundstrokes....
in straight sets, again citing fatigue and illness for his poor showing. It marked his fifth consecutive loss at a Grand Slam event. Gulbis then withdrew from his next three tournaments, his ranking momentarily rising to his personal best of 21 in the world due to Marin Čilić
Marin Cilic
Marin Čilić , is a Croatian professional tennis player. His career high ATP ranking is no. 9, achieved on 22 February 2010, following his best-ever performance at a Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals in the 2010 Australian Open...
failing to defend his points from the 2010 Australian Open. His ranking then dropped to number 24.
Gulbis returned to the tour in late February. His next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships
Dubai Tennis Championships
The Dubai Tennis Championships is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab...
, an outdoor hard court tournament, which was held simultaneously with the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
The International Tennis Championships is an ATP World Tour 250 series men's tennis tournament held every year in Delray Beach, Florida, and played on hard courts. The event was held in Coral Springs from 1993–1998; in 1999, it was relocated to the Delray Beach Tennis Center...
, the tournament that Gulbis attained his first ATP title from; however, the Dubai Tennis Championships is a 500 level tournament, whereas the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships is a 250 level tournament, and given the much stronger field at Delray in 2011 than 2010, Dubai offered a stronger chance of maintaining or advancing in the rankings. In the first round, ranked 24th and seeded 8th, Gulbis won his first round match against wild card entrant and former doubles partner Michael Berrer
Michael Berrer
Michael Berrer is a German professional tennis player. He reached his career high in singles with No. 42 on May 2010 and his high in doubles in March 2009 with No...
convincingly, 6–3, 6–4, despite having trouble with his first serve, giving away seven double faults throughout the match. Gulbis fell to Sergiy Stakhovsky
Sergiy Stakhovsky
Sergiy Stakhovsky is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. Stakhovsky turned professional in 2003 and had been playing mostly at the Challenger level from 2005–2008. His career high in singles of #31 and his high of #86 in doubles...
of Ukraine in the second round in three sets, despite having defeated him in their two previous meetings.
Gulbis' season did little to improve as he next played in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
2011 BNP Paribas Open
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 36th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...
, receiving a bye through the first round before struggling with Lu Yen-Hsun
Lu Yen-hsun
Lu Yen-hsun is a Taiwanese professional tennis player. He goes by the nickname Rendy. As of November 1, 2010, Lu is ranked #33 in the world and #1 in Asia. His favorite surface is hardcourt.- Junior career:...
, but ultimately prevailing, with the scoreline of 6–7, 7–6, 6–1. In the third round he was swiftly defeated by eventual winner Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, 0–6, 1–6. He then proceeded to play the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...
(which Djokovic also won), receiving a bye through the first round, but losing in the second round to ATP-ranked #72 Carlos Berlocq
Carlos Berlocq
Carlos Alberto Berlocq is an Argentine professional male tennis player. He is nicknamed Charly. Berlocq's favourite surface is clay and he is currently coached by Jorge Gerosi.-Career:...
1–6, 6–2, 4–6. Ranked 30 going into the Monte-Carlo Masters
Monte-Carlo Masters
The Monte-Carlo Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco. The event is part of the ATP Masters Series on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. The tournament is played on clay courts...
, he defeated the Ukrainian world number 21 Alexandr Dolgopolov in his first round in straight sets, before losing to Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic is a Canadian professional tennis player from Thornhill, Ontario, Canada.Born in what is now Podgorica, Montenegro, Raonic moved to Canada with his family at the age of 3. Raonic is Canada's highest ATP ranked male singles player and the country's highest ever ranked player since...
in the second round, also in straight sets. Gulbis proceeded to lose in the first round of the 2011 Serbia Open
2011 Serbia Open
The 2011 Serbia Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. The third edition of the event hosted by current Serbian star Novak Djokovic, it was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour...
– also a clay court tournament – to Ukrainian Illya Marchenko
Illya Marchenko
Illya Marchenko is a Ukrainian male tennis player. Marchenko turned professional in 2005 and had been playing at the Futures and Challengers level from 2005–2008. His career high in singles is #67 and he is inactive in doubles...
, in straight sets, 2–6, 4–6.
From late April to mid-May, Gulbis took three weeks off due to fatigue before competing in the 2011 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur
2011 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur
The 2011 Open de Nice Côte d’Azur was a tennis tournament play on outdoor clay courts. It was the 27th edition of the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour...
, placed in Nice, France, a 250 level outdoor clay court tournament. In his first two rounds, he defeated Fabio Fognini
Fabio Fognini
Fabio Fognini is a professional tennis player.He is the current Italian No. 1. He achieved his career high rank of No. 32 in the world on 20 June 2011 as a result of his success at the 2011French Open...
and Denis Istomin
Denis Istomin
Denis Istomin is a professional Uzbek tennis player. His career high rank is #39, achieved on August 30, 2010. He is coached by his mother.- 2006 :...
, both in three sets, before falling to world number 6 Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
in the quarter finals, 1–6, 4–6. From there, Gulbis' playing deteriorated further as his ranking dropped from 30 to 85 during the clay court season, failing to defend his deep runs in 2010. He proceeded to lose his next four matches in a row: against Blaž Kavčič
Blaž Kavčič
Blaž Kavčič is a Slovenian professional tennis player, turned professional in 2005. He considers clay his favourite surface...
at the French Open, against Adrian Mannarino
Adrian Mannarino
Adrian Mannarino is a professional tennis player from France. Mannarino competes predominantly on the ATP Challenger Series and Futures circuit. His career high rank is #53, achieved on 16 May 2011....
at the Queen's Club Championships
Queen's Club Championships
The Queen's Club Championships is an annual tournament for male tennis players, held on grass courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London. Between 1970 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit. The event is now an ATP World Tour 250 series tournament on the Association of...
, against Dmitri Tursunov at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
(which marked his seventh, consecutive first round exit at a slam, and after which he took nearly a month off from tennis to train with his new coach), and against former world number 4 James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
at the Atlanta Tennis Championships
Atlanta Tennis Championships
The Atlanta Tennis Championships is an annual men's tennis tournament that is now played at the Atlanta Athletic Club in the Atlanta suburb of Johns Creek, Georgia as part of the ATP Tour....
.
However, Gulbis won his second ATP title at the Farmers Classic
2011 Farmers Classic
The 2011 Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Los Angeles. It was the 85th edition of the Los Angeles Open, and was part of the Olympus US Open Series of the 2011 ATP World Tour...
in Los Angeles, where he snapped his five-match losing streak by defeating 5th seed Belgian Xavier Malisse
Xavier Malisse
Xavier Malisse is a Belgian tennis player. Born in Kortrijk, Belgium, he is the only men's player from his country to have been ranked in the top 20 of the ATP tour. He is sponsored by Prince and Lotto. His nickname is "The X-Man"....
in the first-round, 2–6, 6–3, 7–6 followed by American qualifier Daniel Kosakowski in straight sets. In the quarter finals he defeated Juan Martín Del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
with relative ease, 6–2, 6–4, before defeating American Alex Bogomolov, Jr.
Alex Bogomolov, Jr.
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bogomolov, most known as Alex Bogomolov Jr. , nicknamed Bogie, is a Russian professional tennis player.-Tennis career:...
in the semifinals. He faced No. 1 seed and No. 9 ranked Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
in the finals; after double-faulting to hand Fish the first set, he rallied to win the championship match 5–7, 6–4, 6–4.
Gulbis received a wildcard entry into the 2011 Rogers Cup. He defeated former world no. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
in three sets in the first round, and proceeded to defeat Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...
in the second round after Llodra retired, 6–4, 1–0. In the third round he fell to eventual finalist Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
, who he had recently defeated, in another tight three-setter, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6. He then qualified for the 2011 Cincinnati Masters
Cincinnati Masters
The Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between...
, where he lost to Croatian Ivan Dodig
Ivan Dodig
Ivan Dodig is a Croatian tennis player. His career-high rank ATP singles ranking is No. 32 and his best doubles rank is No. 129.-2010:...
in two sets, 3–6, 6–7(3). He reached the second round of the US Open
2011 US Open – Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but was defeated in the final by Novak Djokovic with a score of 6–2, 6–4, 6–7, 6–1. Djokovic claimed his first US Open title, his third Grand Slam of the year, and his fourth Grand Slam overall.-Seeds:...
but lost to Gilles Muller
Gilles Müller
Gilles Müller is a Luxembourgish professional tennis player. He was a US Open junior champion and is the most successful male tennis player in the history of his country...
6-3, 6(4)-7, 4-6, 6(5)-7. He was later fined US$2,000 for improper coaching by the USTA
United States Tennis Association
The United States Tennis Association is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass-roots to the professional levels...
.
Davis Cup
Gulbis played in three Davis CupDavis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
ties for Latvia in 2009, winning all seven of the rubbers in which he participated (4 singles; 3 doubles with Deniss Pavlovs
Deniss Pavlovs
Deniss Pavlovs is a Latvian tennis player playing on the ATP Challenger Tour. On July 20, 2009, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of World No. 263, whilst his highest doubles ranking of 155 was reached on September 23, 2009....
). His participation in the tie against Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
in September helped Latvia to qualify for the Europe/Africa Zone Group I tier of Davis Cup for the first time in its history.
In 2010, Gulbis continued to support the Latvian Davis Cup team, playing against Poland, where he won both of his singles rubbers.
Record against the top players
Gulbis win-loss record against players who were ranked World No. 10 or higher when the match was played is as follows:
|
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... 1–4 Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles... 1–2 Mardy Fish Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist... 1–1 |
Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals... 0–4 David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:... 0–1 |
Juan Martin Del Potro Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4... 1–2 Tommy Robredo Tommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No... 1–0 Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish.... 0–3 |
Robin Söderling Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010... 0–1 Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight... 0–1 |
Mikhail Youzhny Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years.... 2–0 |
Playing style and Equipment
Gulbis primarily employs an offensive baseline playing style. Gulbis' most consistent shot is his forehand, which is taken with rapid pace and relatively flat execution, a short swing and high levels of wrist action, which causes the shot to be volatile and difficult to read. His running forehand typically has a slice action. Ernests has a right handed double-handed backhand, which is also taken very flat and with an extremely short swing. Gulbis is also known for his finesse shots, including the offensive topspin lobLob (tennis)
A lob in tennis is hitting the ball high and deep into the opponent's court. It can be used as an offensive or defensive weapon depending on the situation.-History:...
and drop shot
Drop shot
A drop shot in tennis is slicing, putting a backspin on the ball just over the net. A good drop shot travels such that the opponent is unable to run fast enough to retrieve it....
, both of which he can strike from any position, including from deep in the court. Gulbis employs the drop shot consistently and often, sometimes to the point of derision. Gulbis plays an extremely aggressive, winner-driven game, which often leads to a high unforced error count, making his consistency an issue in tough matches, often causing him to be likened to Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
. His aggressive baseline game is coupled with an extremely powerful serve, often reaching the upper 130's and low 140's in mph; however, Gulbis has struggled with his second serve, and often has high double fault statistics across the ATP leader board. Despite playing a style more attuned to fast surfaces, his strong showing at the 2008 French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
and his win over Federer on clay are attributed to his powerful and flat strokes which can play through the surface. Gulbis' primary weaknesses are his second serve, his consistency and his nerves; despite a strong serve and return, Gulbis has poor break point conversion, break point save and tie-break statistics, having on numerous occasions made strings of uncharacteristic unforced errors when serving or returning for sets or matches, as well as hitting numerous "easy" slams well out in tough situations, something he has become known for and often jokes about in interviews.
As of January 2011, Gulbis uses a Wilson
Wilson Sporting Goods
The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is a sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, and currently is a foreign subsidiary of the Finnish company Amer Sports....
BLX racquet after switching from Head
Head (company)
Head N.V. is a sports equipment and clothing company, known mainly for their alpine skis and tennis racquets. Founded as a ski company in Baltimore, Maryland, the company is currently headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Kennelbach, Austria...
. His strings are Pacific Poly Force 17 strung at 62 lbs. Gulbis uses Tourna grip on a white Hydrocontrol grip. He is endorsed by adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
for his attire.
Singles: 2 (2–0)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | Feb 28, 2010 |  Delray BeachDelray Beach International Tennis Championships The International Tennis Championships is an ATP World Tour 250 series men's tennis tournament held every year in Delray Beach, Florida, and played on hard courts. The event was held in Coral Springs from 1993–1998; in 1999, it was relocated to the Delray Beach Tennis Center... |
Hard |  Ivo KarlovićIvo Karlovic Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm . He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h ... |
6–2, 6–3 |
| Winner | 2. | July 31, 2011 | Los Angeles |
Hard | Mardy Fish Mardy Fish Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist... |
5–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
Doubles: 2 (2–0)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | April 14, 2008 | Houston U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts.... , United States |
Clay |  Rainer SchüttlerRainer Schüttler Rainer Schüttler is a German professional tennis player, ranked World No. 113 in the ATP rankings. He is the last German player who reached a final in a grand slam tournament.... |
 Pablo CuevasPablo Cuevas Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz is a Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open Men's Doubles title with Luis Horna....  Marcel GranollersMarcel Granollers Marcel Granollers i Pujol is a professional tennis player from Spain who turned professional in 2003. He reached his highest singles ranking of World Number 33 on August 1, 2011, and his highest doubles ranking of World Number 5.-2006:Granollers made the first round of the Wimbledon tournament in... |
7–5, 7–6(7–3) |
| Winner | 2. | July 18, 2009 | Indianapolis, United States |
Hard |  Dmitry TursunovDmitry Tursunov Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player.... |
 Ashley FisherAshley Fisher Ashley Fisher is a professional tennis player who comes from New South Wales in Australia. Fisher turned professional in 1998. Fisher has never played a major singles match on the ATP Tour, but has won four notable doubles titles on tour. The doubles specialist reached his highest doubles ranking... Jordan KerrJordan Kerr Jordan Kerr is an Australian professional tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking is 356th, which he reached on 7 August 2000. His career high in doubles was at 23rd, which he reached on 18 August 2008... |
6–4, 3–6, [11–9] |
Singles performance timeline
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2011 Valencia Open 5002011 Valencia Open 500
The 2011 Valencia Open 500 was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 17th edition of the Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana, and was part of the 500 Series of the 2011 ATP World Tour...
.
| Tournament | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 2007 ATP Tour The ATP Tour is the elite tour for professional tennis organised by the ATP. The ATP Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Tennis Masters Cup, the ATP Masters Series, the International Series Gold and the International Series tournaments.-January:... | 2008 2008 ATP Tour The ATP Tour is the elite tour for professional tennis organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The ATP Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Tennis Masters Cup, the ATP Masters Series, the International Series Gold and the International Series tournaments.-Schedule:This... | 2009 2009 ATP World Tour The Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organised by the ATP. The 2009 ATP World Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments , the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, the ATP World Tour 500 series, the ATP World Tour 250 series, the ATP World... | 2010 2010 ATP World Tour The Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the ATP. The 2010 ATP World Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments , the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, the ATP World Tour 500 series, the ATP World Tour 250 series, the ATP World... | 2011 2011 ATP World Tour The Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the ATP. The 2011 ATP World Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments , the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, the ATP World Tour 500 series, the ATP World Tour 250 series, the ATP World... | |SR | |W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||
| Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... |
LQ | 1R | 2R | 1R 2010 Australian Open – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but retired due to a right knee injury trailing 3–6, 6–7, 0–3 in the quarterfinals against Andy Murray.Roger Federer met Andy Murray in the final of this event... |
1R 2011 Australian Open – Men's Singles Roger Federer was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic, who went on to win the tournament by defeating Andy Murray 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 in the final. It was Djokovic's 2nd title at the Australian Open, with this title bearing many resemblances to his title in 2008. Djokovic... |
0 / 4 | 1–4 | ||
| French Open | 2R | QF | 2R 2009 French Open – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion but lost in the fourth round to Robin Söderling. This was Nadal's first ever defeat at the French Open, having won the title in all six of his other appearances... |
1R 2010 French Open – Men's Singles Roger Federer was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Robin Söderling, which allowed him to make a second-successive final here. This was the first time since the 2004 French Open that Federer did not reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament.Rafael Nadal won his fifth... |
1R 2011 French Open – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal, the defending champion and, after this tournament, six-time winner of this event defended his title by beating long-time rival Roger Federer for his sixth French Open title, tying him with Björn Borg for most all-time in the open era. Notably, the Spaniard played his first ever... |
0 / 5 | 6–5 | ||
| Wimbledon | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 1R 2011 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion but lost to Novak Djokovic in the final.Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title. Upon reaching the final, he gained the World No.1 ranking as a result. This marks the first time that neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal is ranked No... |
0 / 4 | 2–4 | ||
| US Open | LQ | 4R | 2R | 1R | 1R 2010 US Open – Men's Singles Juan Martín del Potro was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year, after undergoing a wrist operation in May and only starting to practice again in August... |
2R 2011 US Open – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but was defeated in the final by Novak Djokovic with a score of 6–2, 6–4, 6–7, 6–1. Djokovic claimed his first US Open title, his third Grand Slam of the year, and his fourth Grand Slam overall.-Seeds:... |
0 / 5 | 5–5 | |
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 6–4 | 3–4 | 0–3 | 1–4 | 0 / 18 | 14–18 |
| Olympic Games | |||||||||
| Summer Olympics Tennis at the Summer Olympics Tennis was part of the Summer Olympic Games program from the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics, but was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics... |
Not Held | 1R Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's Singles The Men's Singles tennis competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from August 10 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre. The DecoTurf surface rendered the event a hardcourt competition. Matches were in best-of-3 sets, except for the final which was in best-of-5 sets... |
Not Held | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | ||||
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | |||||||||
| Indian Wells Masters Indian Wells Masters The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California.... |
2R | 2R | 2R 2010 BNP Paribas Open – Men's Singles The Men's singles tournament of this event started in the week of March 8. It was the year's first of nine tournaments in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series.Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but he lost to Ivan Ljubičić in the semifinals.... |
3R 2011 BNP Paribas Open – Men's Singles The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 37th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011... |
0 / 4 | 4–4 | |||
| Miami Masters Miami Masters The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park... |
2R | 1R | 2R 2011 Sony Ericsson Open – Men's Singles Andy Roddick was the defending champion, but lost to Pablo Cuevas in the second round.Novak Djokovic won the title, defeating Rafael Nadal 4–6, 6–3, 7–6 in the final for the second week in a row after also beating him in the Indian Wells final the previous week... |
0 / 3 | 1–3 | ||||
| Monte Carlo Masters | 1R | 2R 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters – Singles Rafael Nadal defended the 2009 title by defeating his compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6–0, 6–1 to break an 11-month title drought, and to win a historic 6th consecutive title here in Monte-Carlo.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.... |
2R 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters – Singles Rafael Nadal was the six-time defending champion and defended his title by beating compatriot David Ferrer 6–4, 7–5. This was Nadal's 7th consecutive title in Monte-Carlo, which is the all-time record both for consecutive titles at any tournament and the most titles at this tournament.-Seeds:The... |
0 / 3 | 2–3 | ||||
| Rome Masters Rome Masters The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's... |
2R | SF 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal successfully defended his title by defeating David Ferrer 7–5, 6–2.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Roger Federer # Novak Djokovic # Rafael Nadal ... |
A | 0 / 2 | 5–2 | ||||
| Madrid | 2R | 1R | QF 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open – Men's Singles Roger Federer was the defending champion, but Rafael Nadal defeated him 4–6, 6–7, in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Andy Murray... |
A | 0 / 3 | 4–3 | |||
| Canada Masters Canada Masters The Canada Masters , currently sponsored as the Rogers Cup, is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour. The women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association tour... |
1R | 1R | LQ | 2R | 3R 2011 Rogers Cup – Men's Singles Andy Murray was the two-time defending champion, but lost to Kevin Anderson in the second round.World No.1 Novak Djokovic won his 10th Masters 1000 title of his career and his 9th title of the year, beating Mardy Fish in the final 6–2, 3–6, 6–4... |
0 / 4 | 3–4 | ||
| Cincinnati Masters Cincinnati Masters The Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between... |
QF | LQ | 3R 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters – Singles Roger Federer became the first player since Andre Agassi in 1996 to have successfully defended the title. He defeated Mardy Fish in the final 6–7, 7–6, 6–4. It was his 4th win at the event also winning in 2005, 2007, and 2009... |
1R | 0 / 3 | 5–3 | |||
| Shanghai Masters Shanghai Masters (tennis) The Shanghai Masters is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour. It is held annually in October at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, People's... |
NMS | 1R 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 The 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 1st edition of the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2009 ATP World Tour... |
1R | 1R 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters – Singles Andy Murray was the defending champion and successfully defended his title by beating David Ferrer 7–5, 6–4 in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Rafael Nadal # Andy Murray ... |
0 / 3 | 0–3 | |||
| Paris Masters Paris Masters The Paris Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The event is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour... |
LQ | 3R 2010 BNP Paribas Masters – Singles Novak Djokovic was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Michaël Llodra.Robin Söderling won the title, defeating Gaël Monfils 6–1, 7–6 in the final.-Seeds:All seeds received a bye into the second round.# Roger Federer ... |
A | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | ||||
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 6–5 | 2–6 | 14–8 | 4–6 | 0 / 26 | 26–26 |
| Career Statistics | |||||||||
| Tournaments Played | 0 | 1 | 14 | 21 | 26 | 21 | 23 | 106 | |
| Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2 / 106 | 2–2 |
| Overall Win–Loss | 0–2 | 4–2 | 10–14 | 24–22 | 20–26 | 31–20 | 18–22 | 2 / 106 | 107–108 |
| Year End Ranking | 418 | 141 | 61 | 53 | 90 | 24 | 60 | $2,334,305 | |
Singles (7)
| Legend (Singles) |
|---|
| Challengers (4) |
| Futures (3) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | September 12, 2005 | Friedberg Friedberg - Places :* Friedberg, Bavaria, Germany* Friedberg, Hesse, Germany** University of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg* Aichach-Friedberg, Bavaria, Germany* Friedberg, Bad Saulgau, a district of Bad Saulgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* Friedberg, Styria, Austria... , Germany |
Clay | Marcel Zimmermann |
6–4, 6–0 |
| 2. | January 16, 2006 | Bergheim, Austria Bergheim, Austria Bergheim is a municipality in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the state of Salzburg in Austria.... |
Clay |  Jean-Claude ScherrerJean-Claude Scherrer Jean-Claude Scherrer is a professional tennis player from Switzerland who entered professional play in 1998.-Runners-up :-External links:*... |
7–6(7–2), 3–6, 6–4 |
| 3. | March 6, 2006 | Leuggern Leuggern Leuggern is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:The remains of a Roman era Rhine fortifications watchtower have been discovered in Felsenau. The modern municipality of Leuggern is first mentioned in 1231 as Lutgern. In the 13th Century it was... , Switzerland |
Carpet | Tobias Klein |
7–6(7–4), 6–4 |
| 4. | November 6, 2006 | Eckental Bauer Cup The Bauer Cup is a tennis tournament held in Eckental, Germany since 1997. The event is part of the ATP Challenger Tour and is played on indoor carpet courts.-Singles:-Doubles:- External links :**... , Germany |
Carpet | Philipp Petzschner Philipp Petzschner Philipp Petzschner is a professional German tennis player. He is known for his hard-hitting and incredible bursts of speed around the court, and now for controversy in the US Open Men's Doubles Final which he won partnered with Jurgen Melzer against the Polish team of Fystenberg/Matkowski... |
6–3, 6–0 |
| 5. | February 19, 2007 | Besançon Internationaux du Doubs – Open de Franche-Comté The Internationaux du Doubs – Open de Franche-Comté is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually in Besançon, France, since 1996 .-Singles:-Doubles:-External links:**... , France |
Hard (i) |  Édouard Roger-VasselinÉdouard Roger-Vasselin Édouard Roger-Vasselin is a male tennis player from France, the son of 1983 French Open semifinalist Christophe Roger-Vasselin.-2007:... |
6–4, 3–6, 6–4 |
| 6. | March 12, 2007 | Sarajevo BH Telecom Indoors The BH Telecom Indoors is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 2003.-Singles:... , Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the... |
Hard (i) |  Jan MertlJan Mertl Jan Mertl is a Czech tennis player playing on the ITF Futures Tour and ATP Challenger Tour. On July 23, 2007, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of 163.-Singles: 1 :-Doubles: 9 :-External links:... |
4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–2) |
| 7. | October 7, 2007 | Mons Ethias Trophy The Ethias Trophy is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It has been held annually in Mons, Belgium, since 2005.-Singles:-Doubles:... , Belgium |
Hard (i) |  Kristof VliegenKristof Vliegen Kristof Vliegen is a former Belgian tennis player. He plays right-handed and he turned professional in 2001.He was a semi-finalist in Chennai in 2006 and in May of the same year, he reached the final of the ATP tournament in Munich, setting up the first ever all-Belgian men's singles final against... |
7–5, 6–3 |
Doubles (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponents in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | July 10, 2006 | Oberstaufen Oberstaufen Cup The Oberstaufen Cup is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually in Oberstaufen, Germany, since 1992.-Singles:-Doubles:... , Germany |
Clay | Mischa Zverev Mischa Zverev Mikhail "Mischa" Zverev is a German professional tennis player. He is the son of former Russian tennis player Alexander Zverev, who is also his coach. He now resides in Monte-Carlo, Monaco and represents Germany internationally... |
 Teodor-Dacian CrăciunTeodor-Dacian Crăciun Teodor-Dacian Crăciun is a Romanian tennis player. On March 5, 2007, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of 218. His current singles ranking is 696 as of February 8, 2010.... & Gabriel MoraruGabriel Moraru Gabriel Moraru is a Romanian tennis player. On July 25, 2005, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of 234. His current singles ranking is 759 as of April 19, 2010.-Doubles finals: 3 :-External links:... |
6–1, 6–1 |
| 2. | October 30, 2006 | Aachen Lambertz Open by STAWAG The Lambertz Open by STAWAG is a tennis tournament held in Aachen, Germany since 1991. The event is part of the ATP challenger series and is played on indoor carpet courts.-Singles:-Doubles:- External links :**... , Germany |
Carpet | Mischa Zverev |
 Tomasz BednarekTomasz Bednarek Tomasz Bednarek born November 12, 1981 in Pabianice, Poland) is a professional tennis player from Poland.-Career:He is a doubles' specialist. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of 81 on April 19, 2010... &  Irakli LabadzeIrakli Labadze Irakli Labadze |Georgia]]) is a professional tennis player. His career high singles ranking was "World No. 42" which he attained in July, 2004.Labadze turned pro in 1998, and has recently passed the $1 205 296 career prize money mark... |
6–7(5–7), 6–4, [10–8] |
| 3. | March 12, 2007 | Sarajevo BH Telecom Indoors The BH Telecom Indoors is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 2003.-Singles:... , Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the... |
Hard (i) |  Deniss PavlovsDeniss Pavlovs Deniss Pavlovs is a Latvian tennis player playing on the ATP Challenger Tour. On July 20, 2009, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of World No. 263, whilst his highest doubles ranking of 155 was reached on September 23, 2009.... |
Jan Mertl Jan Mertl Jan Mertl is a Czech tennis player playing on the ITF Futures Tour and ATP Challenger Tour. On July 23, 2007, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of 163.-Singles: 1 :-Doubles: 9 :-External links:... & Lukáš RosolLukáš Rosol Lukáš Rosol is a Czech professional tennis player. Rosol competes on the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP World Tour, both in singles and doubles. Rosol was coached by former Czech player, 1999 US Open quarterfinalist Ctislav Doseděl.-Singles: 19 :-Doubles: 34 :-External links:... |
6–4, 6–3 |