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  • Cincinnati Quarterfinal: Ernests Gulbis vs. Novak Djokovic

    8/1/08 7:20 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - Ernests Gulbis' third-round clash with James Blake was a little bit frosty, but that won't be the case on Friday. His quarterfinal opponent is friend and former training partner Novak Djokovic.

    In what could be the continuation of one of the game's best rivalries--albeit a friendly one--for years to come, Ernests Gulbis and Novak Djokovic will square off for a spot in the Masters Series Cincinnati semifinals.

    It will be the second head-to-head meeting between the two former training buddies, who spent years of practice time together at coach Niki Pilic's tennis academy in Germany. Djokovic won their only previous encounter 7-5, 7-6(3), 7-5 earlier this summer in the French Open quarterfinals.

    The time could be right for Gulbis to exact revenge, because while Djokovic remains a legitimate No. 3 player in the world, the Serb is not scorching hot. Djokovic is still trying to right the ship a bit after disappointing losses to Marat Safin at Wimbledon and Andy Murray in Toronto last week. So far in Cincinnati he is doing just that, although Djokovic struggled with Simone Bolelli in his opening match before prevailing 7-6(2), 7-6(2). Next he breezed past an ailing Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-2.

    Gulbis had to spend more time on the court in his third-round match thanks to disappearing in the second set against James Blake. Nonetheless, the 19-year-old Latvian recovered to upset Blake 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Gulbis also ousted Jarkko Nieminen and Arnaud Clement, both with a fair amount of difficulty. He saved a set point against Nieminen in the first before triumphing in straights, then saw Clement serve for the match twice in the third set with a match point on serve at 5-4. Those contests are Gulbis in a nutshell; at times he is awful but at other times he is unbeatable and his talent is undeniable. Gulbis began to fulfill his massive potential by reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open and playing Rafael Nadal closer than anyone other than Roger Federer at Wimbledon.

    If Gulbis' huge serve is working, he will stay competitive with Djokovic just as he did in Roland Garros. In order to get over the hump, however, he cannot afford to suffer those all-too-common breakdowns in his erratic forehand. Djokovic in three sets is the smart pick, but this is definitely a winnable match for Gulbis and his opponent knows it.

    “He was always kind of tall for his age and strong and he was also hitting these powerful shots,” said Djokovic of Gulbis. “It was a matter of time when he was going to make this breakthrough and just gain the experience with the time. Obviously he's showing his quality now and he's one of the young rising stars that we expect to see more in the future.”

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Comments

Oh dear. When will Novak stop talking as if he were a senior veteran. Ever since he arrived at No.3, and even more so after winning his first Grand Slam, he has bracketed himself with Federer and clearly thinks he is on a par with Nadal. His remarks about Gulbis 'he's one of the young rising stars we expect to see more of' are just plain patronising - he is only just over a year older for goodness sake. His own rise to the top was meteoric in 2007 but he has yet to prove he has the staying power. Nadal has been winning Slams and Masters for four years and holds the record for the longest number of consecutive years at No.2 and has broken numerous other records on the way to the top. Novak, you are getting up the noses of a lot of people with your arrogance.

ed251137 , 8/1/08 8:24 AM


So, he can't even speak his own mind without being labeled 'arrogant'?

indigo , 8/2/08 5:11 AM


I think indigo has a point. Whilst Novak can be seen as acting like a vet on the tour from that comment, it could also be seen as simply an observation on his part of Gulbis' talent. Although Novak's been arrogant in his comments of other players before, we shouldn't always judge him based on his past behaviour. I'd give him the benefit of the doubt - he was being interviewed afterall..

tenstar , 8/2/08 7:12 AM


Dont get me wrong I admire Novak enormously and if Nadal were not in the way he would already be lining up for the No.1 slot. It is just that I liked him a lot more when he was a bit more humble. But I agree many players make comments which can be misconstrued when being interviewed moments after they come of the court after a gruelling match.

ed251137 , 8/2/08 9:50 AM


Novak Djokovic is an arogant big mouth. He has won just one Slam in his career, when Rafa was 20 he already had twice as many Majors.

Samx1 , 8/2/08 8:24 PM


in Fairness to Novak, that's who he really is! He's #3 and he's not there if he didn't play good tennis!

agf25agf , 8/2/08 10:54 PM


[Quote (Samx1): ""Novak Djokovic is an arogant big mouth. He has won just one Slam in his career, when Rafa was 20 he already had twice as many Majors.""]

You've got a pretty big mouth yourself, bandying about words in a tone of such dislike. The unpleasant manner of your prose is far worse than that of anything Novak has ever said.

indigo , 8/3/08 4:30 AM



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