Down 15-40 on serve at 4-4 in the third set, Ernests Gulbis could have thrown in the towel. It was windy, Haas was playing solid tennis, it’s been a long week through six matches in Delray. But instead, Gulbis decided to dig down and make a fight of it. He raised his level and attacked Tommy, playing fearless tennis. Making some incredible plays at net and scrambling around the baseline. He held for the 5-4 lead.
Haas held serve and Gulbis again got himself into trouble, this time a treacherous 0-40 hole. But once again, Gulbis dug down deep and survived the game, with the help of some massive serving and a netcord which deflected a Haas overhead just wide to get to deuce.
Haas again held and they went to a deathbreaker.
Showing remarkable cool, Gulbis dominated with consistency and excellent defense, and veteran Haas, winner of 508 career matches and 13 singles titles, was the one to falter, falling behind into a 5-2 deficit.
Gulbis finished the job without any drama and will now play Sunday’s final vs. Isner or Vasselin. It will be the third final of Gulbis’ career. He is a perfect 2-0 in finals, taking titles here in Delray and Los Angeles.
It was a very impressive display of top tennis and mental toughness under intense pressure today by a man very much on the rise, Ernests Gulbis, who looks like a man destined to surpass his previous career high ranking and into the top 20 or even 10.
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Scoop Malinowski · March 2, 2013 at 7:00 pm
After the match Ashley Fisher asked him what he said to himself during the match with all the wind and tough conditions, “Just shut up and play,” Gulbis stated.
Steve · March 2, 2013 at 9:00 pm
This was a display of another US tourney plagued by horribly windy conditions. No one could play their A game in this kind of weather. Gulbis sprayed the 2nd ugliest volley I’ve ever seen way long. Many of Haas’ shots were taken several feet long by the winds.
Perhaps this could prepare them for a US Open hurricane at the end of the year. 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · March 3, 2013 at 8:23 am
Arias said it was very bad wind yesterday, he said he hit in the morning so he knew. Both players kept their heads and competed well despite the bad conditions. Good, intriguing match to watch, I enjoyed all three sets. Both players really wanted to win this to make final.
Andrew Miller · March 3, 2013 at 8:54 am
Wind traditionally a factor in Delray b/c of the ocean, not far away. Also not a bad place for up and coming players to break out. Saw a very young Hewitt and a very young Malisse once duel it out there in their teens, with Malisse remaining loyal. Also saw Goldstein get a W on Patrick Rafter, whose name (surprisingly) never surfaces. For the record:
Rafter vs. Spadea – 6 wins, 1 loss (Miami, 98)
Rafter vs. Rios – 2 wins, 1 loss (Toronto, 96)
He even gave Spadea some credit.
”
Q. Talk about Vincent’s game tonight. He is comfortable here. It is like his hometown. Do you feel like the crowd helped him or do you feel like he was playing at another level tonight?
PATRICK RAFTER: You know, I allowed Vince to play pretty well, I thought. But, at the same time, he played very well. I let him in with not serving very well and he has got very strong returns and one thing he did very well was he hit straight at me a lot of times when he came to the net. My hands just weren’t — just probably weren’t volleying very well either – a combination of two things, me letting him play well and him also playing well at the time.”
Andrew Miller · March 3, 2013 at 8:55 am
Wind traditionally a factor in Delray b/c of the ocean, not far away. Saw a very young Hewitt and a very young Malisse once duel it out there in their teens, with Malisse remaining loyal. Also saw Goldstein get a W on Patrick Rafter, whose name (surprisingly) never surfaces. That said…
Rafter vs. Spadea – 6 wins, 1 loss (Miami, 98)
Rafter vs. Rios – 2 wins, 1 loss (Toronto, 96)
He even gave Spadea some credit.
”
Q. Talk about Vincent’s game tonight. He is comfortable here. It is like his hometown. Do you feel like the crowd helped him or do you feel like he was playing at another level tonight?
PATRICK RAFTER: You know, I allowed Vince to play pretty well, I thought. But, at the same time, he played very well. I let him in with not serving very well and he has got very strong returns and one thing he did very well was he hit straight at me a lot of times when he came to the net. My hands just weren’t — just probably weren’t volleying very well either – a combination of two things, me letting him play well and him also playing well at the time.”
Dan Markowitz · March 3, 2013 at 1:45 pm
I love that, when a player says he “allowed” the other guy to play well. Look, Spadea was never in Rafter’s league, but I think Spadea was not much worse a player than Gulbis, for example. Delray is a difficult place to play.
Scoop Malinowski · March 3, 2013 at 2:53 pm
Dan it took Vince a lot longer to finally win his first ATP singles title, Gulbis already has two, maybe three by tonight. Gulbis is a superior player to Spadea.
Dan Markowitz · March 3, 2013 at 5:13 pm
I think Gulbis is a superior player to Vince, but I still have to see much more from him and it starts next week in IW.
Scoop Malinowski · March 3, 2013 at 5:54 pm
Dominant, very impressive victory by Gulbis today vs. RV. And also very cunning and clever. He was down set point to RV in first on RV’s serve. RV hesitated because of the wind and Gulbis seemed to heckle him from across the court, as if telling him Just go ahead and serve. Waving his arms and kind of bullying RV. At least that’s how I interpreted it. Then it became a long furious point eventually won by Gulbis with just amazing, clutch, fearless tennis. Gulbis eventually won the game and the set in a TB. RV seemed flustered and a bit overwhelmed by Gulbis’ alpha male court demeanor. Gulbis wanted it more, was smarter and more bold and took it from RV. Then in the second set, there was a lull but Gulbis lead 53. RV served to stay in it was up 40-15 but Gulbis again stepped on the gas and raised his game and finished it right there. Awesome display of big time tennis by Gulbis all week. Then in the post match interview with Fisher, Gulbis playfully chastised Fisher for asking him the same question as yesterday, about what he said to himself, telling Fisher to come up with different questions. It was funny. Gulbis used to be more go with the flow but now he is really letting his own independent free thinking personality out. He’s being himself, totally uninhibited. And it’s letting him play his best tennis. Then in the trophy presentation, he said he wanted the red Porsche in the corner of the court, he thought it was for the winner and expected to win it last time and also this time. It was funny stuff. I think we have a new star character on the tennis scene now. For years Gulbis played along with the establishment, did and said all the right things politely and nicely, showed respect to everyone, did it the way he thought he was supposed to. But now he’s matured. He’s become a man. Now he’s learned the game, how it all works and he’s ready to play “the game” HIS way. Fasten your seatbelts everyone it should be a fun ride on the Gulbis express. You miss Safin? Well, Gulbis is here.
loreley · March 3, 2013 at 6:06 pm
I couldn’t say it better, Scoop. Ernests isn’t a boy anymore.
Scoop Malinowski · March 3, 2013 at 6:29 pm
Loreley, maybe great minds think alike : 0 How did you interpret that verbal exchange late in first set on RV’s set point?
Steve · March 3, 2013 at 6:45 pm
Scoop, Tomic, babyFed & now Gulbis. You’re changing horses every few weeks this year. You should have stuck with Raonic who liked last year, IMHO.
loreley · March 3, 2013 at 6:48 pm
He told Edouard go away. It’s my match. 😉
Ernests is more agressive now in every way. He became tougher.
I prefer a cocky winning Gulbis over the soft losing one. But alltogether he is a fair player.
That’s what he told L’Equipe before Marseille:
“I was sick a lot in 2011, but that doesn’t explain my bad year. The truth is, I was completely lost. I was looking for a solid structure, but I kept changing (coaches)…some buddies of mine mentioned Bresnik. I gave his academy in Vienna a shot, and I finally found a stable environment.”
Yesterday in Rotterdam he fought formidably in a heavyweight fight against Juan Martin del Potro. Yes, he lost 7-6, 6-3, but it was a rich learning experience. His formidable power hadn’t been diminished by discotheque visits.
“I’m happy because I played my natural game, which is aggressive. I don’t care if I lost if I played my game. I hit winners and made errors, but that’s OK. If I keep playing like this, I’ll have a tournament victory in 20 matches…
“It’s not that I don’t like practising, it’s just that I’m an impatient type. It has to pay off right away. If not, my motivation disappears. Gunther changed my forehand. My stroke had lost it’s naturalness when I was 18. A week later, I beat Andy Murray in an exhibition. With him, I get the feeling my hours on the court are useful. Before, I felt my head was filled with crap about playing patterns. I’ve rediscovered a more free technique, and now I’m not going to change it.
“I’m only playing tennis for one reason: to win a Grand Slam. I don’t care about the rest, if I’m 25, 50, or 100 in the world. I’m a maximalist. It’s the same with 250’s, 500’s or even Masters 1000’s — not for me. Unless I reach the pinnacle, I’ll remain unsatisfied.
“In your lifetime, at what point do you stop being an idiot? I’m 24. Enough is enough!”
loreley · March 3, 2013 at 6:51 pm
He said, that he will have a tournament win in 20 matches. He didn’t need that many. Crazy statement from a guy who was still outside of top-100.
Scoop Malinowski · March 3, 2013 at 6:52 pm
Steve, Tomic needs to become more scrappy, he plays tennis like he’s dressed in a tux and top hat. Gulbis scraps like a warrior. Tomic still has a bright future. SO does Gulbis and Dimitrov.
Scoop Malinowski · March 3, 2013 at 6:54 pm
Good stuff Loreley ) I like that, “it’s my match.” It’s like Lendl used to tell Jay Berger before they’d play a match, “Are you ready to cramp.” “You’re good but I do everything better.” Psyche warfare by Gulbis today worked like a charm ) The sign of a very smart crafty cunning player. He spoke the words down set point and backed them up. Awesome. Talk the talk then walked the walk. I like how he foresaw that he would win a title within 20 matches. Spot on.
Steve · March 3, 2013 at 7:36 pm
Scoop, we all know those things but are you really switching horses? You predicted, in fact, guaranteed Tomic to be #1.
Scoop Malinowski · March 4, 2013 at 7:10 am
Sticking with Tomic to be #1 someday Steve. Not looking so certain at the moment, but neither was Fed after he lost to Horna in straight sets. I see a lot of great things in Tomic, he’s still a kid wait till he becomes the man.
Amanda · March 4, 2013 at 9:34 am
Scoop – Ernests has always been funny and candid in his interviews. Check out this article for some of his best quotes. 🙂
http://tenngrand.com/2013/02/27/the-30-best-quotes-of-ernests-gulbis-career/
Scoop Malinowski · March 4, 2013 at 11:16 am
Amanda thanks for sharing this link. Gulbis reminds of Safin, Medvedev, Muster and Ivanisevic the way he handles questions and press conferences. It’s really invigorating for the sport to have someone like Gulbis being so candid with a sense of humor. So many of the players are like in an android auto pilot state, answering so many dull questions. The UFC fighter Georges St. Pierre said he hates doing media because it’s the same monotonous questions all the time over and over. He said he actually shuts down and doesn’t even think about it, he just talks like a recording. That’s gotta be torture for an athlete to have to deal with such elementary questions. I can see why Rios ignored the media. I think Sharpova and some other players do the same thing as GSP, they don’t even think anymore they just go into a recording answer. Gulbis is a breath of fresh air, he won’t let himself get sucked down to that level of monotony. I like how he challenged Ashley Fisher yesterday, Hey you asked me the same damn question yesterday, can’t you come up with another? I like how he keeps the interviewer on their toes and even turns the tables on them. In a nice way of course ) Hopefully Fisher did not feel humilaited on national TV )
Steve · March 4, 2013 at 11:31 am
Next time maybe Fisher can ask him how he developed his beautiful forehand. 😉 Some journos are need to start asking better questions.
Dan Markowitz · March 4, 2013 at 1:59 pm
Gulbis isn’t getting interviewed that much these days. And tennis is nothing compared to team sports as far as the media. In Delray, how many questions do you think Gulbis answered. It’s not like there’s a media onslaught. There were probably ten reporters at Delray. Who are these guys that they can’t engage a questioner for maybe 10 minutes after a match?
Scoop Malinowski · March 4, 2013 at 4:04 pm
Dan I’m pretty sure there was a lot more media during the final weekend, it was pretty crowded the first day, even the effervescent Maylene Ramey was in the house working for the site tennisfansunited.com I think it was called. Mid week there was a lull. I didn’t go to any post match press conferences, the other years there were on average about 6-8 journos in each of those. I had no problem getting Biofiles with Phau, Istomi, Smyczek. Got Gulbis, Haase, Russell, Dodig, etc. in previous years.
Andrew Miller · March 5, 2013 at 7:28 am
Big things can come from small events. If I am not mistaken the likes of bigger victories from Roddick, Hewitt, Malisse, Fish, Bogie, all came from momentum built at Delray, a tricky event to win because of the wind. I saw Hewitt play Malisse before Hewitt’s slam wins, when Hewitt was not yet the Hewitt that would remain a fixture in the top 10, and well before Malisse would make his Wimbledon semifinal run (before the odd match with Nalbandian – that final would have been Hewitt-Malisse, just like the Delray match I saw). Same thing when I saw Dancevic beat Soderling in 2001 on an outer court in the qualifiers for the Legg Mason in DC. I was watching with my friend (same tournament where we saw Rios practice) and thought, sheesh these players are pretty good.
Soderling reached his potential. Dancevic only reached some of it. I liked Dancevic’ game, but he plays maybe too low risk. Saw a video of him after reading some of Dan’s comments, against that new kid from the U.S. that ended up beating him – whole time thought Dancevic the vet would ice the kid.
But the kid was more mental. I think that’s why he has more of an upside – he wins matches against Dancevic, matches he has no right to win but does because he pushes it while Dancevic just waits to win. Can’t wait to win out there.
Scoop Malinowski · March 5, 2013 at 8:25 am
Winning a title is the best way to build confidence Andrew. The very best. Only way to really get confidence is by winning and Gulbis did this in stunning fashion, digging out of deep trouble vs. Querrey, Hass and the final vs. Roger Vasselin. This really can propel him to a new level. He looks like a different player and man now, more experience, really wants it, understands what it takes now. Will be very interesting to see how he does over the next two months. I believe he will do lots of damage and will not suffer a letdown as he did at other similar stages of his career. We’ll see. But I was extremely impressed with everything I saw from Gulbis in Delray, from form on the court to his mindset dealing with all the periphery factors of pro tennis. Gulbis has always shown flashes of brilliance and greatness – but never quite like he has shown last week in Delray Beach.
Andrew Miller · March 5, 2013 at 4:44 pm
Scoop you are probably right. Someone at tennis magazine once wrote that winning makes Federer happy and he wants to keep winning to stay happy.I think that Federer actually loves winning and loves competition – he is happy to own a spotless record against Raonic and Tomic, just as much as he cherished icing Mario Ancic (no one ever brings up Ancic) and repaying the favor over and over following the Wimbledon loss.
If this thirst for competition – love of the fight – and love of victory is now part of Gulbis’ DNA, hey I think we all welcome this. I don’t mind watching the hardest forehand ever hit winning tournaments, but am wary of its staying power given that the hardest hit forehands usually exit tournaments early, with one exception – Del Potro.