Win over Dimitrov was just Gulbis being Gulbis

Written by: Staff on 12th March 2014

Win over Dimitrov was just Gulbis being Gulbis

epa04122428 Ernests Gulbis of Latvia hits a return against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain at the BNP Paribas Open tennis in Indian Wells, California, USA, 12 March 2014. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

By Ricky Dimon

All of Ernests Gulbis was on display in his 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory over Grigor Dimitrov in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday afternoon.

His famously unorthodox forehand going off the rails? Check. His not-quite-as-famous two-handed backhand catching fire when it mattered most? Check. A racket smash that would make even Goran Ivanisevic blush? Check. Arguments? Check. A memorable interview? Check.

In a first set that did not reach the 30-minute mark, Gulbis tossed in half of his six double-faults for the match, saved none of two break points, and won a mere five points in four return games. Just like that, however, the switch was flipped and he delivered a 6-1 breadstick to one of the hottest player on the ATP Tour (Dimitrov went into the match with a 12-3 record for the season to go along with a title in Acapulco).

For much of the final set, Gulbis’ frightening forehand sailed either five feet long or found the bottom of the net. It was all over everywhere. After one such failure erased a break point for the Latvian at 2-2, he decimated the offending racket. It was one of those racket-smashes in which he was not even particularly upset. Gulbis paused after the miss, perhaps thinking he was still in good shape at deuce on his opponent’s serve. But then he seemed to think to himself, “I have not yet given the crowd my one obligatory racket smash per match.” The result? Goodbye, racket; hello, souvenir for the woman in the front row.

https://twitter.com/nadalnews/status/443606406172639233

No more sticks had to be extinguished, because the next one propelled Gulbis to a brilliant display over the final three games. He held easily at 5-4, broke at 5-5 with a backhand down-the-line rip, then served out the match to love at 6-5.

The win did not come without some drama—almost all of it good-natured—with chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani. One game after reducing his former racket to smithereens, Lahyani hit Gulbis with a time violation. Indian Wells’ 20th seed protested about half a minute and thought about arguing some more before telling Lahyani, “We’ll talk about it later.”

If nothing else, Gulbis at least talked about Lahyani later—entirely in jest. When asked by post-match interviewer Andy Taylor about the racket-breaking and time-wasting violations, Gulbis explained that Lahyani should have been “more open-minded.”

After the interview, which was hardly more than a non-stop laugh-fest between Gulbis and Taylor, player and umpire had one final exchange before they left the court: a high-five.

Topics: 10sballs, BNP Paribas Open, Ernests Gulbis, Goran Ivanisevic, GRIGOR DIMITROV, Indian Wells, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

March 12, 2014 at 10:10 am

Win over Dimitrov was just Gulbis being Gulbis – http://t.co/FDLs47u0Td @egulbisfans @GrigorDimitrov #BNPParibasOpen #IndianWells #Tennis
dusanVemic says:

March 12, 2014 at 10:27 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Win over Dimitrov was just Gulbis being Gulbis – http://t.co/FDLs47u0Td @egulbisfans @GrigorDimitrov #BNPParibasOpen #Ind…
egulbisfans says:

March 12, 2014 at 10:34 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Win over Dimitrov was just Gulbis being Gulbis – http://t.co/FDLs47u0Td @egulbisfans @GrigorDimitrov #BNPParibasOpen #Ind…