So Gulbis merely upsets Stepanek, whilst Tsonga cruises past Zverev.

Perhaps you saw a different Gulbis match to the one I viewed today. He beat Stepanek in 65 minutes, compared to the 69 Tsonga took to win, the Gulbis serve wasn't broken at all, whilst Tsonga was broken once, and Gulbis won a higher percentage of the points played compared to Tsonga's points margin.

The Reuters report of the match is headed "Latvia's Gulbis squashes Stepanek in Tokyo", which is perhaps a bit over the top, but nearer the truth than Cheryl's low key heading. I summed up Gulbis' performance on a tennis forum thus : "He played very sensibly against Stepanek and simply outclassed him in every respect today."

watched the match, great performance by gulbis,, hope he can continue in that style.

Gulbis was good. Obviously I have seen him play much better, but this one of his best matches (of course) of an otherwise bad year. He probably played just as well against Murray at the Open.

Stepanek never had any real chance on any of his break points. Gulbis just hit bombs at all the right times. As usual, Gulbis often put himself in trouble with horrible DFs and a few bad forehands (but not a lot), but got himself out it every time (which he never did in the past). Hit some clutch backhands and one amazing drop-volley on the big points.

Overall he pretty much overpowered Stepanek on a fast indoor hard court. We have to be honest tho, that Stepanek was not good at all.

"It all started coming back together for me at the US Open, even though I lost to Andy Murray in the first round," admitted Gulbis. "I then played Davis Cup and had two weeks of hard practice with my new coach Hernan Gumy."

good stuff

"If I continue to work hard and stay healthy, my goal is to reach the Top 10 within the next two years."

not as encouraging as the previous quote. Needs to set higher goals.

Ricky or pos -

think gulbis can win another in tokyo? or is it too big an ask? i did not see the match.

zoey - fast hard courts will give Gulbis a chance, but you have think Monaco will take care of him unless Gulbis serves absolutely amazingly.

The second-round mental block will surely creep into Gulbis' mind, and thats not good against mentally-tough player like Monaco. Plus Monaco will just be too consistent for him--even on fast hard courts.

zoey i think he can/should.

Gulbis on why he was playing so bad earlier in the year: "I was standing two meters behind the baseline like a Spaniard and doing nothing."

thats just classic

lmao, thats hilarious

*tries hard not to start obsessing over another youthful eastern European tennis player*

stu, i hear you, talented, exciting player with nice manners, what more to wish for?

I think Gulbis is slowly finding his form and has changed his mind-set also. When he gets it all together he'll be posting some great results, as he has the talent and potential to win titles. I love to watch him play when he's on song; he has court presence.

Stepanek has not been playing well for this season. He was a no-show in his match vs. Djokovic at the USO. I think it's a combination with him. His age is a huge factor and his S&V style of play is not one that any player can engage in for 2 or more sets. When we take out his S&V game, step really doesn't have another type of game to fall back on, and therein the problem lies = poor results.

Love this kid! I will watch no matter what, but I'm hoping he's turned the corner. Sounds like the new coach is making a difference. Go Ernie!!!

hi rafterfan! always good to see you. you will watch live? i have to sleep, so would love to read your input about how ernie is playing, if you have time. i thought he had star quality first time i saw him play over a year ago.

exactly right, von: court presence. he seems like the type to be up for the big stage but has lacked the consistent work ethic to go along with all that talent, let's hope the new mind-set is just that, and not a passing fancy.

Gulbis and Monaco are not on Stadium Court, so there won't be a steam. Darnit.

aren't u in the uk, ricky? very surprised you don't have a way to watch. i know atp site is not showing the gulbis match and i could not find it on espn360.com. but i am supposed to be asleep here!

i leave my laptop on with slamtracker to at least get an idea what's going on...it's tough to wake up at 2 in the morning and stay awake staring at a scoreboard!! too bad more atp tourny's don't have radio broadcasts like gs's.

gogogo gulbis!!