By Scoop Malinowski

Ernests Gulbis recently lost to a player ranked 529 in the world. That’s right, the former Roland Garros semifinalist in 2014 lost in three sets 46 36 16 to Benjamin Hassan at the Koblenz Challenger in January.

But if you thought the Latvian veteran might be finished at the ATP level, you are wrong. The 29-year-old Gulbis, now ranked 199 in singles, has qualified for the Sofia main draw by beating Lorenzo Sonego 76 67 76 and Florian Mayer 64 61 in qualifying.

adidas · Ernests Gulbis · Gulbis

By Scoop Malinowski

I would guesstimate my friend Mike has called me easily about twenty times after losing to the same old 69 year old warhorse. Maybe twenty five times.

The story was the same every time… “We split sets then he won the tiebreaker…”

adidas · Barricade · Djokovic

In the last 25 years, the tennis shoe has exploded in creativity and diversity of different models. Each year, each footwear company produces new models, modified and enhanced from the previous years. The days of the simple and long-lasting Stan Smiths or Nike Bruins or Slazengers are long gone. You can go to a web site distributor like Tennis Warehouse and choose from literally hundreds of different tennis shoes.

Recently I’ve been wondering and asking players what their all time favorite tennis shoes are. I decided to do my own list. Here it is…

3. The Nike Air Oscillate

I loved the sleek, simple white look of the Oscillates and they must have been special because Pete Sampras seemed to wear them for over a half decade, never asking Nike to upgrade or modify, which is unusual today in that Nike is constantly changing and altering and creating new footwear models for Rafa and Roger.  Fantasic, solid shoe. I bought at least ten pairs of Oscillates.

adidas · Nike · tennis shoes · Yonex