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2/27/10 8:08 AM | Ricky Dimon
Ernests Gulbis and Jarkko Nieminen will go head-to-head on Saturday for a spot in the Delray Beach final. The winner will face either Ivo Karlovic or Mardy Fish for the title.
In the midst of varying resurgences, Ernests Gulbis and Jarkko Nieminen will square off in the semifinals of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships on Saturday afternoon. They have met on one previous occasion, with Gulbis winning 7-6(7), 6-2 in the first round of the 2008 Cincinnati Masters.
Both players have endured some extremely tough times since their one encounter. Gulbis, who went on to reach the Cincinnati quarterfinals that season, reached a career-high ranking of No. 38 in the world one month later. In a dismal 2009 campaign, however, the 21-year-old Latvian did not win back-to-back matches until September and he briefly dropped out of the Top 100.
This year, however, Gulbis has already reached at least the quarterfinals of three tournaments (Doha, Memphis, Delray Beach), and the semifinals of two events (last week in Memphis, this week in Delray Beach). Back up to No. 72 in the world and climbing, Gulbis booked his place alongside Nieminen with straight-set victories over Ryan Harrison, Teimuraz Gabashvili, and Leonardo Mayer.
Nieminen has stumbled his way through all kinds of injuries and illnesses throughout the past few seasons. The 28-year-old Finn, once as high as 13th in the rankings, spent a considerable portion of 2009 outside the Top 100 and he currently registers at No. 109. Nieminen's comeback now appears to be in full force. He struggled a bit earlier this year, but he advanced one round in both San Jose and Memphis and this week he has dismissed Paolo Lorenzi, fifth-seeded Evgeny Korolev, and No. 3 seed Benjamin Becker.
While Nieminen is a talented shot-maker who owns a stellar two-handed backhand, it is no secret that this match is on the racket of Gulbis. If Gulbis plays like he has been over the past two weeks, he will have too much game for Nieminen on a fast hard court. Should the 2009 Gulbis resurface, though, he will be in trouble against a solid baseliner and consistent veteran like Niemenen.
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haha..thnx ricky. atleast we wont see more of racquet demolitions from gulbis :P
vamosrafa , 2/27/10 3:22 PM
erno better win or he is a total mug. he should beat up any one of the three clowns in the field. course rick's gonna be doing some voodoo chant in his yard trying to mess him up. go erno win the first one!!!
spadea , 2/27/10 7:48 PM
Would be cool for Gulbis to win an ATP event. One more match to go. First final!
eelesino , 2/28/10 1:10 AM
match report - http://www.tennistalk.com/en/match_report/Delray_Beach_International_T ennis_Championships/2010/Ernests_Gulbis_-_Jarkko_Nieminen
RickyDimon , 2/28/10 1:37 AM
Ernests Gulbis
Jarkko Nieminen
Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
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"I have to serve well, similar to today against Mayer. I didn?t feel really well with my legs today, my knee especially. I was struggling with that. Hopefully, tomorrow I will feel better and be moving well. Serve well and stay aggressive: that?s it. That?s all I can do."
Gulbis apparently had few outbursts, about which he added: "I was at the Head factory in December and I saw that they were making every racquet by hand. They are really putting a lot of work into them. When I was there, I felt so bad. I didn?t break a racquet for like one month. I?m better now. They are putting so much effort to make the racquets and an idiot like me goes and breaks them."
Estimated he breaks 50-60 a year.
RickyDimon , 2/27/10 2:35 PM