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9/29/09 4:43 PM | Ricky Dimon
Ernests Gulbis scores a straight-set victory over Somdev Devvarman in Bangkok on Tuesday afternoon. Gulbis is joined in the second round by Evgeny Korolev, who saved three match points against Fabrice Santoro.
Ernests Gulbis d. (WC) Somdev Devvarman 7-6(7), 6-2
Gulbis needed one hour and 35 minutes to dispatch Devvarman and book a spot in the second round of the PTT Thailand Open on Tuesday afternoon. It was Devvarman, however, who took control early. The world No. 133, who recently led India to a place in the 2010 Davis Cup World Group, used one break of serve to take a 4-1 lead in the first set. Often one to fall apart when behind, Gulbis got the break back and eventually forced a tiebreaker. The 21-year-old Latvian saved one set point in the decider (on his own serve) and eventually pulled it out nine points to seven.
From there Gulbis never looked back. He held all four of his service games in the second and won six of seven second-serve return points to break Devvarman twice. The world No. 99 fired 14 aces en route to a second-round meeting with top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Evgeny Korolev d. (7) Fabrice Santoro 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(7)
Santoro had a great chance of closing out Korolev in straight sets, but the 36-year-old Frenchman ended up going down in two hours and 48 minutes. After taking the first set courtesy of two service breaks, Santoro earned eight break points throughout the second frame of play. Korolev saved all eight, thus forcing a tiebreaker which he rolled through seven points to four.
The two competitors exchanged one break of serve each during the third set en route to deciding 'breaker. Santoro promptly seized a 6-4 lead with two match points, but Korolev thwarted the first on his own serve and saved a second one on his opponent's serve. The 66th-ranked Russian survived another match point on his own serve at 6-7 and finally finished off Santoro with two consecutive winners. Next up for Korolev after his thrilling victory is either Robby Ginepri or Thai wild card Danai Udomchoke.
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Tsonga is going to make Gumy re-think his decision to coach Gulbis
RickyDimon , 9/30/09 2:02 AM
i missed the news. gulbis has hired a coach? how long ago?
zoey234 , 9/30/09 2:14 AM
well, i can look it into it. i hope the coach can do something, like in general, make ernie get fit and commit to invest in his talent before it's too late.
zoey234 , 9/30/09 2:24 AM
oh yeah, safin's coach, right. the name gumy didn't register anything but gummy bears....lol...
crossing my fingers for the gumy and gulbis team working out.
zoey234 , 9/30/09 2:31 AM
yeah Gulbis hired Gumy after the US Open and before Davis Cup. He coached Safin last year, and perhaps some earlier this season.
Didnt do much for Safin, but I am certain that Safin was the one who hooked Gulbis and Gumy up, so Safin must think (for some reason) that he is a decent coach. Hope he can do something for Gulbis.
RickyDimon , 9/30/09 2:49 AM
"Tsonga is going to make Gumy re-think his decision to coach Gulbis"
Right, a scoreline of 6/7-76-67 is really not a scoreline which will make Gumy "re-think" his decision. If anything, it will make him say, ok, we've got something to work with.
A really terrible prediction RD, as Gulbis was coming off 2 davis cup wins, and a neatly-done win against Somdev - regardless of his previous form, it did look like things were turning around for him - and unfortunately, he had a terrible draw. Lets hope he gets properly back into the game in the next few months..
Jyocka , 10/1/09 4:36 PM
"If anything, it will make him say, ok, we've got something to work with."
correct, Gulbis played awesome
"A really terrible prediction RD"
incorrect, I did not see anyone else predict differently, including you
"as Gulbis was coming off 2 davis cup wins, and a neatly-done win against Somdev - regardless of his previous form, it did look like things were turning around for him"
incorrect, he almost lost both Davis Cup matches to one player ranked around 200 and another player ranked somewhere around 500. And he did not play well against Somdev, either. So no, this performance against Tsonga came out of nowhere.
RickyDimon , 10/1/09 5:53 PM
Gulbis played an awesome match, but as usual his UE count was very high. If he could begin cutting down on his UEs I think he would go deeper in tournaments. I hope Gumy will be a more positive influence on Gulbis than he was for Safin, but considering Safin seemed to do worse while being under Gumy's tutelage, I'm wondering if that was a good move for Gulbis. I don't understand why Gulbis can't find a high profile coach like Gilbert or Cahill, considering all the money his father has.
Von , 10/2/09 11:53 AM
Okay, I'll give you that. We both want the same thing - Gulbis to do well - so I will stop picking on you. I vouch for my favorite players with a singlemindedness which could be called stupidity (I was adamant that Fed would win when he was down 2 sets against Haas in Paris, to the disgust of my more practical family) so I expect all his to fans to believe the best in him despite everything. All in all, he played good after a long time, so cheers :)
Jyocka , 10/2/09 12:27 PM
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Somdev Dev Varman 
Ernests Gulbis 
Evgeny Korolev 
yay! gulbis won a match!! too bad the glory must be so short lived...
tsonga will give him something to think about on his way home.
zoey234 , 9/30/09 12:57 AM