FreeBird
Legend
From CK, MTF:
See the bolded part:
Welcome to Djokovic fanboy Club, Ernesto. :twisted:
Also, Raonic and Kyrgios.
See the bolded part:
Ernests won his first round match today beating Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-4, 6-1. About 30 minutes after he finished, still in his match clothes, Gulbis talked to Doug Robson of USA Today and myself about the match, his game, his coaching situation and how to beat the Top 5.
The Match with Traver:
“I was nervous the whole match. My serve saved me many times, especially in the second set, when I was a break up. I was love-40 down and I made 3 aces to come back in that game. The serve did basically 50 % of the job. The serve did 50% and then somehow I managed to break him on the return. He plays slow. His game is not fast enough. I have to adjust to his slow speed.
The Slow Start to His Season: “I spoke a couple of day ago to my agent and he asked me how many points does the No. 15 player in the world have if it was a race? And I think its close to 300-400 points until now so I just have to think that I started with a 300-400 point deficit. It’s not a big deal. It’s actually one good tournament. I’m not worried about it. I’ve had some difficulty in the last couple of months because of the shoulder injury. So it’s coming back and I can more physically and spend the hours on the court. I’m not thinking about the shoulder anymore. I’m pain-free, but I still don’t finish the forehand the way I want to. I’m still closing it too early, not going out enough. It’s lack of confidence, lack of practice.
No Longer Working With Bresnik:
“Well, it was, the off-season was very good. It was just some differences, some small *differences, but when you’re with someone for three years it’s like a husband and wife relationship. It’s a long relationship. Somebody can be with a coach all his life. I’ve been with five coaches already in my career. It’s just a normal thing. He was the best coach for me when we met because I was ready for a very disciplined, strict and straight-forward coach. He helped me a lot to set up my mind in the right frame. I was No. 150 in the world and he brought me to the place I’m at now.
Dominic Thiem:
“I have a great relationship with Dominic. I think he’s the less-stressful guy I know on the tour. He’s ok with everything. It’s not about that. We split officially ten days ago. I went to Rotterdam, Marseille and Dubai without him and we both felt it. When I came back to Vienna after Dubai, we sat down and we both felt it. I’m still going to practice with Dominik. It’s always not nice to split, but I still like him. We didn’t split on a bad note.
Coaching Situation:
“I’m looking for somebody. There are some ideas that I don’t want to say now, but there are a couple of options. One option, I think I’ll definitely try in Miami and Monte Carlo. I don’t want to rush into a new relationship with a coach. If I don’t know by now what I have to do, then I’ll never know. I’m already 26. I know how to train my body, what I need to practice, what I need to work on.
I’m still very positive. I don’t consider this down as a couple of years ago. When I was really down and I didn’t know what I had to do. Now I know exactly what I need to do. Hopefully, my shoulder holds up. This week I came on Saturday and I really worked good with my physio. We did a lot of fitness practice just to feel better with the legs. Today I didn’t play great. I played far from great, but at least I could move. What I didn’t do in Rotterdam, Marseille and Dubai–I just went for stupid shots–I did today because I was ready to run. The matchesagainst Istomin in Dubai, I should have won at least the first set.
In Basel, I lost to Coric, but I couldn’t raise my arm. The doctors told me I basically have to cut my arm off which I disagreed and I fixed it my way.
People Criticize Gulbis’s Forehand:
Let people talk (about my forehand) Definitely I want to come forward, but I need to be confident to move up. Today I had to come up much more than I did. I just hit the ball and came in. I just needed to win. I was tight, but I just needed to win so if I had to hit slice forehands, whatever, I just needed to win.
Every tournament that I won in my career, I didn’t play well in the first round. I played a little bit better the second round, a little bit better in the third round and that’s what I need.
Kyrigos:
“I didn’t see him that much to watch his game. I don’t like to watch his game. He’s a very talented guy, but I like more cleaner tennis to watch. If I’m a spectator, I like to watch guys like Novak, more stable guys. I like to watch more long rallies. I love Milos, for example, but I hate to watch his game. Kyrigos is maybe a little bit better.
Beating The Top Guys:
“Who’s in the Top 5. (Robson: Well, the Top 4 and Nishikori). How did he get to the Top 5 (Me: He got to the finals of the US Open and semis of the Australian Open.) I did already beat them. I beat Federer, I beat Djokovic and I beat Murray. And I’ve never beaten Nadal. Nadal’s the only one of the Top 4 I’ve never beaten. I’ve lost to him like 8 times, but every match was really good tennis.
It’s tough to analyze myself, but I think I have the game to beat anybody because I have the serve and because of the aggressive game. If my game is on, I can beat anybody. My game is on maybe 10% of the time. I’m working to get it better, but these are the tournaments I play well. I play well in Paris. I beat Federer in a tough match. I beat Berdych in 3 sets. I barely made a mistake against Berdych. When I’m on, I’m on
Me: My Analysis of You Is You’re A Little Too Robotic:
“I lack flair? I’m very stiff? I think I have one of the best hands in the game. If you see my drop shots. If you see my feeling. When I’m not on–the last half-year–when my game is not working, then it might seem robotic.
When You Struggle With Game What Goes Wrong:
“I’ll tell you without excuses, why I haven’t been able to play better at the beginning of the year. I finished the year, last year, I skipped Paris to treat my shoulder. In the off-season, we have one month, I was still thinking a lot about my shoulder so I could practice maybe 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours maximum, the rest time I need to do treatment. It was in Spain, I can’t tell you where. I’ll keep it a secret so nobody comes looking for me. If you’re not lacking practice time, that’s the main reason for me. I need to have time on court. For example, guys like, I’m guessing, but guys like Ferrer, he needs to do a lot of time doing fitness work and only a little time on the court. I’m the complete opposite. I need to do a lot of time on the court, and the rest fitness, then I do well.
Then i got sick right before Doha, I skipped Doha and went right to New Zealand. I was sick with antibiotics for my throat. I spent seven days in bed and that also doesn’t help. All these small things together–which is fine. I have to learn how to deal with them. But I went out to Australia and lost the first match in five sets. But if for example I won that first match, maybe everything will turn out differently. Maybe I’ll win the second round, third round, fourth round, and get a little bit lucky. I wouldn’t win the tournament because I wasn’t in my best shape. But who knows. These are the small things that make a difference.
Gulbis plays Adrian Mannarino in the third round with a possible match up with Andy Murray in the Rd of 16.
Welcome to Djokovic fanboy Club, Ernesto. :twisted:
Also, Raonic and Kyrgios.
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