By Amanda H. LeMay
Tennis-prose.com: Who is with you this week?
Ernests Gulbis: My dad, two of our friends from Latvia, Hernan, Michal.
Tennis-prose.com: We are all glad that you’re back with Hernan (Gumy).
Ernests Gulbis: Oh I’m so very glad to be back. It’s been a tough last year because I’ve been changing a lot with the coaches. I was sick a lot. Ok I won one title but the last year was bad. But now this week, I don’t want to jinx it but I’m playing my top tennis as I used to play. If I win or lose that’s ok because I’m on the right track but I’m happy and it’s been good.
Tennis-prose.com: What have you been doing here (in Memphis)?
Ernests Gulbis: Well actually my food poisoning was not completely gone so I went to eat here some chicken wings (LOL!) which were really good but then it came back. My stomach couldn’t take it. But I’m OK now. Last time when I was here I went to Beale Street (local Memphis tourist attraction) and heard some good music. Not this time but I liked it last time.
Tennis-prose.com: Milos is going to the NBA game tonight (Tuesday)… do you like to get out at night?
Ernsts Gulbis: No no. Not tonight.
Tennis-prose.com: Maybe Milos will party?
Ernests Gulbis: [Laughs] Milos cannot party. Milos is a big star. He has to show up at these kind of things. He’s top seed.
Tennis-prose.com: He’s not top seed. Oh well he is second then? See, I haven’t looked at the draw.
Ernests and Milos play tonight after the Roddick/Malisse match which starts at 7:00. Stay tuned for the rest of Amanda’s Big Interview with Ernests Gulbis…
"I'm playing my top tennis · as I used to play"
Scoop Malinowski · February 22, 2012 at 11:58 pm
Interesting read, thanks Amanda. It’s good to hear Gulbis is playing again on a high level, hopefully he can stay there for a while. A cynic might think he’s just trying to pump himself up for the big showdown with the new star Milos. Reading between the lines, you kinda wonder if Gulbis would like to be a big ATP star – or would he prefer to keep a lower profile? Marcelo Rios was ultra talented but he actually said he didn’t want to be #1, he preferred to be the spoiler, to be in the underdog role. I wonder what Gulbis actually wants?
loreley · February 23, 2012 at 7:48 am
So you give us the interview in small pieces 😉
They have to pay a prize for beeing a big ATP star. Gulbis was close to become one, but everything began to work against him.
It also needs a special mentality to reach the top. Gulbis might be too normal.
You read Agassi’s book. How obsessed he was. When was the last time a nice and normal guy was #1 beside of Federer? Maybe Guga and Safin.
Some ppl find that Federer is a narcissist, but probably he is only very much in love with his own game. Like I said, the most guys are just too normal. They dont want to kill themselves. Maybe an intact personality is better at the end.
I think Gulbis wants to do it his way and when it doesn’t work out it’s ok for him, because he tried his best.
We also should not forget that he comes from a small country. From that point of view he achieved a lot already.
I think it was Pete Bodo who wrote, that he is surprised that Djokovic managed to become #1, because he is from Serbia. But Novak plays also for his country. He wants that the world knows that Serbs can achieve something special.
Scoop Malinowski · February 23, 2012 at 12:36 pm
Well said Loreley, I agree with all you say. One person who is not so sure that Federer is not crazy is Llodra. A few years ago I asked him for a feature, who would win a boxing match for $10 million, Roger or Rafa? Llodra answered, Oh Federer because he’s crazy. He’s CRAZY! Curious, I asked why he said that, if he could provide any examples. All he would say was that he has known Federer since they were teenagers but he was CRAZY! He has you all fooled. So maybe you are right, Gulbis is too normal a guy to be the big star, which is okay too and maybe better in the end. I think Federer is pretty normal and well liked, maybe he’s a different person on the court.
loreley · February 23, 2012 at 1:49 pm
Llodra is the crazy one. 😉
I am sure you all know that Ljubicic found him naked in his locker. He wanted to catch some of the Croat’s aura.
Funny idea. Rafa and Roger boxing. I can’t imagine them to do that. They would say that boxing is not good for a players body and give it a pass. Roger quit even skiing, because something stupid could happen. He is very sensible.
Rafa plans an exhibition in front of 80 000 ppl in Madrid. He wants Roger to join. They can make 10 millions anytime. 😉
Scoop Malinowski · February 23, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Llodra is a lil crazy, also Dan M. saw him play a doubles match at US Open last year on an outer court and one fan was heckling him for something. And then Llodra ran a ball down right to the fence where the fan was and Llodra got right his face, like nose to nose and yelled F*** you! But I think tennis is a little bit crazy anyway, to run around chasing a yellow ball for so many hours is not exactly normal. But it’s the greatest sport on earth. I did that feature on them boxing just as an experiment and it turned out well enought that Tennis magazine bought it and used it. I posted it here last year…
https://www.tennis-prose.com/articles/nadal-vs-federer-in-the-boxing-ring/