Why Gulbis didn't participate in this tournament?

Just asking....ahek hek hek!

Gulbis did well to trouble himself to get a wildcard for Rome.

Go Roger!

(I'm a FEDAL fan, Raindrops, before you get after me. I love to see both Roger and Rafa do well because to watch them play matches against each other is, to me, some of the best tennis has to offer.

So I'm hoping Roger has it together ... *sigh*)

ljubi and monfils are the only ppl who can trouble roger here.....

i disagree vrael, i think its just monfils who can trouble roger.

oh please, is there anyone in Estoril who can even take a set off Fed..its a walk in the park for him..I dont know why Federer is even playing there unless he thinks every match is on his racquiet and this is just a warm up for Madrid whwr ehe will defend his titel. I mean how much confidence will this Estoril title give him, none of the guys who could trouble him on clay are playing.

Gulbis did not have a wild card in Rome

he probably did not want to play three weeks in a row, and obviously Madrid next week is far more important. Plus he is up to the point in the rankings where 250-point events don't mean as much to him, like they did back in February.

Thanks Ricky.

Nam1, as we heard it from fedfans (in other thread), Roger entered this tournament just to shake off some rust of his game. He'll get an actual clay practise there (no real competition as you suggested) and gain ranking points at the same time to offset those he has lost started from IW up to Rome.

what is gulbis ranked now??

currently 35..
and there is a good chance he will be 34 next week..

thanks clayking.......he can get into top 32 b4 roland garros cant he??

well definitely..
he has 10 points to defend at madrid..
supposing that he gets to 3rd round, he will earn an extra 80 points..
and that can propel him to something like 28..
of course he can do better i hope...

Roger is the classic greatest. Love Roger

Go Roger GO!!! Get some form so that you can make the Madrid final... and surrender your title to Rafa

Yes, clayking is right. The points between 29 and 35 are really close at the moment. Gulbis at #35 is only 56 points behind Hewitt at #29, so a half decent showing in Madrid would definitely have him seeded at RG. Plus factor in that Davydenko, Del Potro are already non-starters and his chances are looking very good.

i wont count on his performenece in Rome against Nadal even though is thought was great he is a moody player so dont count on the ranking issue as much as the clay tennis needs other good player on clay to make it little competitve but i wouldnt cross my fingers on him

Hi Raindrops,

Roger added his Estoril schedule as his no. 19 tournament back in October last year. It wasnt an afterthought. there was a lot of discussion back then whether he was going to play Estoril or not, he decided to at that time.

Nam, the way that Roger has been playing (between AO and present), he needs all the practise he can, to get into form. He has taken too long a break (6 weeks), obviously brought on by lung infection as well (which was as a result of Ethiopia visit).

wishing roger all the best, for all present and future tournaments this year.

Hi, Maxi! Surprise!

Hello duro! Lovely to speak to you as always. you managed to sort out your password then? really, really pleased. Roger won his match today, but I think ricky (in another thread), said it wasnt convincing or pretty? :(, just waiting for his response. Didnt manage to see the match myself though.

Had to change my E-mail address. There was no other way. I was watching some of the match. Average performance by your champ, but perfectly enough to win. Had he needed more involvement, he would have produced it. Something wrong with "our" blog? Did you notice? Dysfunctional indeed.

duro, am happy you were able to sort it out. i know it worried you, but as you asked me , i did mention to both ollyk and zare that you wanted them to know you were trying, so am sure they will contact you again over there. not sure what you are referring to about the blog? so will head over there now? about roger's performance?

Duro, if you have time (as you saw the match), can you give me some statistics? i hear from ricky, his first serve was poor?

Maxi, lots of unforced. Low 1st serve percentage. I don't have any statistic but trust me, it wasn't a match to be remembered. He played exactly enough to win.

I was referring to dysfunctional tennis blog! X-tennis, Maxi! It doesn't work. Try it yourself. Or maybe it's something with me again...

hello duro. no. it works. tried it last night, though there was a delay. sometimes that does happen - i agree. try again.

thanks for the stats on roger. he'll work it out. he'll have to in order to win this year! (of course!).