Latvia's Ernests Gulbis is ready for his close-up.
The 19-year old giant-killer continued his remarkable run at the French Open making his first Grand Slam quarterfinal by hitting 11 aces and defeating Frenchie Michael Llodra 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3. He'll face Aussie Open champ Novak Djokovic for a place in the semifinals.
Nole, for his part, won't be taking this match lightly. The Serb spent time and practiced with Ernests a few years back at Niki Pilic's tennis academy in Munich, Germany and said, He was destroying me in practices. I couldn't win a match. Practice? No chance.
But what about Ernests' current on-court success? The lass from Latvia puts his it down to pure and simple hardwork and smarter tennis:
I practised well for three weeks and worked on my physical condition and I changed some tactics. For example, one year ago I was playing some pretty stupid clay-court tennis. I'd go for winners when I didn't need to and it was more hard-court tennis.Could there be an upset brewing on the red clay of Paris? Stay tuned.
(image via Getty)
Whoever wins, I hope it goes five sets. Novak hasn't even been remotely tested yet and they'll just say he's cruised. Would be nice to see some real fight from both of them and have a great match. Seems the other side of the draw is thick with five setters. I heart Paris...
ReplyDeleteI'm going opposite. I say Nole wins in 3. Of course, then there will be Rafa waiting...
ReplyDeletei'm also leaning towards nole also even though ballers with nothing to lose and big games are very dangerous.
ReplyDeletei think nole's experience and confidence will pull him through in the end.
God is Ernests cute in that picture! I hope Nole comes out on top but I wouldn't be too hurt if Ernests makes it through. It's his time to shine!
ReplyDeleteI must agree! Ernests...prrrrr. :) I hope this is as a great of a match as it has the potential to be. I'm a sucker for the underdog, so you might say I'm gullible for Gulbis!
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