Ernests Gulbis (pronounced [ˈærnəsts ˈgulbis], born August 30, 1988) is a Latvian professional tennis player. As of July 7, 2008, he is ranked 49th in the world for singles. In 2008, Gulbis won his first ATP Tour doubles title in Houston. His career high also include quarterfinals on French Open, where he lost to Novak Djokovic. is the 242nd day of the year (243rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Tennis (disambiguation). ... is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) was formed in 1972 to protect the interests of male professional Tennis players. ... The U.S. Mens Clay Court Championships is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament which started in 1910. ... This article is about the tennis tournament. ... Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković or Novak Djoković, pronounced ,  ), born May 22, 1987 in Belgrade, Serbia (part of Yugoslavia at the time), is a Serbian professional tennis player. ...

Gulbis is coached by Karl Heinz Wetter. He used to be coached by Nikola Pilić, the former Yugoslavian tennis player and Croatian and German Davis Cup captain, and trained at the Niki Pilic Tennis Academy in Germany since he was 12.^[1] Nikola Niki Pilić (born 27 August 1939 in Split, Croatia, Kingdom of Yugoslavia) is a retired Croatian professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia. ...

Personal life

Gulbis first started playing tennis with his grandmother and considers basketball, football and hockey as his favourite sports. His father, Ainārs, is an investment businessman and his mother, Milēna, is a theatre actress. The second of five children, Gulbis has three sisters (Elīna, Laura and Monika) and one younger brother named Kristaps.^[2] Gulbis comes from a sporting family and his grandfather, Alvils, was one of the starting five players on ASK Rīga, the Soviet Union basketball team that won the European Championships.^[3] His other grandfather, Uldis Pūcītis, was a popular actor and film director. He comes from a very wealthy family and has been known to travel to matches in a private jet.

Gulbis speaks three languages: Latvian, Russian, English and a little German.^[3]

Tennis career

The highlights of his career up to 2006 are: reaching the final of the Oberstaufen Challenger in July 2006, where he lost to Michal Tabara; 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. Michal Tabara (born October 16, 1979 in Uherské HradiÅ¡tÄ›) is a tennis player from the Czech Republic, who turned professional in 1997. ... Florian Mayer (born October 5, 1983) is a professional male tennis player from Germany. ... Mario Ančić (born March 30, 1984) is a professional tennis player from Croatia. ... Philipp Petzschner is a professional German tennis player. ...

2007

Gulbis started his season as a qualifier in the Sydney Medibank International, losing in the first round to Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.^[4] He was subsequently defeated in the first qualifying round of the Australian Open. Marcos Baghdatis (Greek: Μάρκος Παγδατής, pronounced ) born 17 June 1985, Limassol, Cyprus) is a Cypriot professional tennis player. ... The 2007 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 15 January through 28 January 2007. ...

Gulbis has been 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 Michael Llodra). Gulbis won his second Challenger title by triumphing over the local favourite, Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 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. Fabrice Vetea Santoro (born December 9, 1972) is a French professional male tennis player known for using both hands for every possible shot. ... Michaël Llodra (May 18, 1980) is a professional French male tennis player. ...

In the first week of October, he won the Mons Challenger in Belgium (d. Kristof Vliegen) as the top seed, breaking into the AP Top 50 for the first time in his career and surpassing Juan Martin Del Potro as the highest-ranked player born in 1988. Kristof Vliegen (born in June 22, 1982, Maaseik) is a Belgian tennis player. ... Juan Martin Del Potro (b. ...

Grand Slam debut

Gulbis defeated Potito Starace at the 2007 U.S. Open.

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."^[5] Gulbis' run was halted in the second round by Spaniard Álbert Montañés with a 1–6 2–6 6–1 6–7(3) defeat in a rain-interrupted match. Potito Starace lost to Ernests Gulbis at the 2007 U.S. Open[1]. Potito Starace (born July 14, 1981 in Benevento) is a professional tennis player from Italy on the ATP Tour. ... The 2007 U.S. Open is being held from 27 August to 9 September 2007, at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City. ... The 2007 French Open (Roland Garros) was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. ... Timothy Henry Tim Henman OBE (born 6 September 1974 in Oxford) is a former English tennis player. ... There have been several notable individuals with the name John Lloyd. ... Álbert Montañés (born November 26, 1980 in Sant Carles de la Rapita, Spain) is a male tennis player from Spain. ...

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.^[6] 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. The Championships, Wimbledon (commonly referred to as Wimbledon) is the oldest tennis championship in the world. ... Ivan Ljubičić ([], born March 19, 1979) is a Croatian tennis player. ... The Ordina Open is a tennis tournament on the ATP and WTA Tour held in s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. ...

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. ^[7] Gulbis' fine run was finally halted by former world Number 1, Carlos Moya, to whom he lost in four sets. ^[8] The 2007 U.S. Open is being held from 27 August to 9 September 2007, at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City. ... Potito Starace lost to Ernests Gulbis at the 2007 U.S. Open[1]. Potito Starace (born July 14, 1981 in Benevento) is a professional tennis player from Italy on the ATP Tour. ... Tommy Robredo Garcés (born 1 May 1982 in Hostalric, Girona) is a professional tennis player from Spain. ... Carles Moy Llompart, also known as Carlos Moy and Carlos Moy (born August 27, 1976), is a Spanish tennis player. ...

2008

Gulbis serving to David Nalbandian at the 2008 Pacific Life Open.

At the first round of 2008 Australian Open, Gulbis lost to Marat Safin 0–6, 4–6, 6–7. He got to the second round of the 2008 Pacific Life Open, where he lost a tight match David Nalbandian 6–4 4–6 7–6⁴. At one point, he was up a break in the third set, having served out the previous game with 4 aces. Unfortunately, he eventually gave the match away in the tiebreak. In first round of 2008 Miami Masters he won against Dominik Hrbatý, but in second round met Nikolay Davydenko. After winning first set with 6-3, he lost following two sets in tiebreaks. David Nalbandian (born January 1, 1982) is an Argentinian professional tennis player who is currently ranked 7th in the world according to the South African Airways/ATP Rankings of June 16th, 2008. ... The 2008 Australian Open is a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 14 January through 27 January 2008. ... Marat Mikhailovich Safin (Tatar: ; Russian: ; b. ... David Nalbandian (born January 1, 1982) is an Argentinian professional tennis player who is currently ranked 7th in the world according to the South African Airways/ATP Rankings of June 16th, 2008. ... Dominik Hrbatý (born January 4, 1978, Bratislava) is a professional tennis player from Slovakia. ... Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko (Russian: ; born June 2, 1981 in Severodonetsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian[1] tennis player. ...

He reached the quarter finals of the 2008 French Open. Through tournament he beat Simon Greul, seventh seed James Blake, Nicolas Lapentti and home-favourite Michael Llodra.^[9] At the quarter final he lost to the third seed Novak Djokovic with 5-7, 6³-7, 5-7. The 2008 French Open will be the second Grand Slam event of the year. ... For other persons named James Blake, see James Blake (disambiguation). ... Nicolas Alexander Lapentti (born August 13, 1976, in Guayaquil, Ecuador) is a professional tennis player from Ecuador. ... Michaël Llodra (May 18, 1980) is a professional French male tennis player. ... Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković or Novak Djoković, pronounced ,  ), born May 22, 1987 in Belgrade, Serbia (part of Yugoslavia at the time), is a Serbian professional tennis player. ...

Later 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 with 7-5, 1-6, 4-6. Kristof Vliegen (born in June 22, 1982, Maaseik) is a Belgian tennis player. ... Country: Italy Residence: Caldaro, ITA Height: 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) Weight: 70 Kg (156 lb) Plays: Right Turned pro: 2002 Highest singles ranking: 60 (9 January 2006) Singles titles: 0 Career Prize Money: US $430,897 Grand Slam Record Titles: 0 Andreas Seppi (born February 21, 1984, Bolzano... Andy Murray (Born: Souris, Manitoba, Canada-) is a Canadian former ice hockey player and current head coach for the National Hockey Leagues Los Angeles Kings. ...

At Wimbledon, he lost in the 2nd round to the 2nd seed Rafael Nadal with 5-7, 6-2, 7-6², 6-3. In the first round he won John Isner. Rafael Nadal Parera (IPA: ) (born June 3, 1986, in Manacor, Mallorca) is a Spanish professional tennis player. ... John Isner (born April 26, 1985, in Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American professional tennis player. ...

Davis Cup

Gulbis has played in three Davis Cup ties for Latvia this year, winning all seven of the rubbers in which he participated (4 singles; 3 doubles with Deniss Pavlovs).^{[10] [11] [12]} His participation in the tie against Monaco in September helped Latvia to qualify for the Europe/Africa Zone Group I tier of Davis Cup nations for the first time in its history.^[12] The great Australians Lew Hoad and Ken Rosewall with the Cup in 1953 The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in mens tennis. ...

Playing Style

Gulbis primarily employs an offensive baseline playing style, although is fairly comfortable playing from all court positions. Gulbis' most consistent shot is his forehand, which has been likened to that of American James Blake's for its rapid pace and relatively flat execution; his forehand is taken with a medium swing and with high levels of wrist action, which attributes to the explosive nature of the shot. His arsenal of forehand shots is nearly complete, and thus can be extremely disruptive and turn a defensive position into an offensive position. His running forehand has a slice action, but consistently lands extremely deep in the court, allowing for adequate recoil time to regain court position. Gulbis also has a particularly excellent array of finesse shots, including the high lob and drop shot, both of which he can strike from any position. Gulbis' primary weakness is his backhand, which while remaining adequately deep tends to lack variety, unless a particularly advantageous situation presents itself. Gulbis' foot speed and serve are also only moderate (but have improved significantly), although his return of serve is extremely varied and dangerous, particularly on second serves and, due to his height and kick serves. For other persons named James Blake, see James Blake (disambiguation). ... Lob, or Lob-Lie-by-the-Fire is a figure from British folklore like the English hobgoblin, Scottish brownie, or German kobold, only bigger. ... A drop shot in tennis is tapping the ball just over the net so that the opponent is unable to run fast enough to retrieve it. ... To serve could mean Doing a service for someone Making an effort for someone or something Working as a butler Giving food or drink to someone Treat someone in a special way Approve A serve in the sport Tennis Expedition in a tertiary employment sector, e. ...

Despite having prodigious talent for his age, Gulbis can be prone to nervousness when down in a set or match, which can cause tight matches to be more mentally straining on him. Similarly to Marat Safin, Gulbis' playing style is extremely tactical and aggressive, and relies more on making winners than drawing errors, which can sometimes lead to a very high unforced error count. Marat Mikhailovich Safin (Tatar: ; Russian: ; b. ...

ATP Tour titles

Singles (0)

Doubles (1)

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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 Wimbledon in London, which ended on July 6, 2008. The Championships, Wimbledon (commonly referred to as Wimbledon) is the oldest tennis championship in the world. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Australian Open is held each January at Melbourne Park. ... This article is about the tennis tournament. ... Wimbledon logo The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly referred to as simply Wimbledon, is the oldest and arguably most prestigious event in the sport of tennis. ... For other uses, see U.S. Open. ... The Tennis Masters Cup is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of each year, involving the top eight players in the mens tennis world rankings. ... The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in the small city of Indian Wells, California. ... The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held at Key Biscayne, in Miami, Florida. ... The Monte Carlo Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France,[1] a commune that borders on Monte Carlo, Monaco. ... The Rome Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. ... The Hamburg Masters is one of the Association of Tennis Professionals Tennis Masters Series tennis tournaments. ... The Canada Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. ... The Cincinnati Masters is an annual tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is today the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city. ... The Mutua Madrileña Masters Madrid is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players. ... The BNP Paribas Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. ... Tennis, in the form of lawn tennis, was a summer Olympic sport contested in every Games between 1896 and 1924 before disappearing from the Olympic scene until its revival as an Olympic event at the 1988 Summer Olympics. ...

Challengers and futures titles (10)

Singles (7)

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Doubles (3)

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References

External links

• ATP Tour profile for Ernests Gulbis
• 'A website about Ernests Gulbis'(in English and in French)
• 'The Importance of Being Ernests' - An Ernests Gulbis website
• Gulbis Recent Match Results
• Gulbis World Ranking History
• Ernests Gulbis statistics at tennisinsight.com
• Ernests Gulbis Davis Cup statistics