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U.S. OPENAugust 27, 2014Ernests GulbisNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK E. GULBIS/K. DeSchepper 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Pretty relatively easy time returning a big server. Only one ace. ERNESTS GULBIS: I played with him in Queen's. He served much, much better. But it helped me that we played in evening. Especially in the end of the second set, when it just became dark, when the light started to be a little bit stronger, when you toss the ball you lose it a little bit for a while. I think that's his biggest problem, so that's why he serves a lot of double-faults. Also I felt if I change a little bit the position of my return, I completely swap his rhythm and his vision of the court, so... Q. It worked. ERNESTS GULBIS: It worked (smiling). Q. What has Gunter brought to you specifically for this tournament? ERNESTS GULBIS: For this tournament? Nothing (laughter). We were practicing really hard because I skipped the tournament after Wimbledon. I took some time off because I needed it. After Paris probably I didn't feel it at the first, but probably a little bit overexcited after that result. So I needed some time off. I took two weeks off and then I started to practice. We had a good mid-season preparation, similar stuff we did in the end of the season. In November and December, we did similar stuff now. I hoped for better results in Toronto and Cincinnati, but my game just wasn't there. So here the first couple days of practice I was struggling a lot with my game. Yesterday I took a day off. Today before the match, you know, I started to hit the ball really well. It's in the last moment basically the game came together. Q. All because of Gunter? ERNESTS GULBIS: If you say so. I have no problem with that. I'm looking for result. Whoever makes it happen, it's good. Q. Who will he be cheering for next match? ERNESTS GULBIS: I think he's going to be happy somebody's in third round. Q. You can't be too happy with the draw, though. You probably don't want to play each other here. ERNESTS GULBIS: Never want to play somebody who you practice with. But, honestly, I have no emotions because of that. I think it's a little bit tougher on Dominic, though. He really doesn't want to play with me, because we played one match I think two years ago in New Haven in qualifying. I played a terrible match, but he couldn't win me just because it was against me, you know. It was a really bad quality match, so hopefully it's going to be better quality. But for me it doesn't really bother me. Q. On the technical side of your forehand, I know... ERNESTS GULBIS: I have no idea. Honestly, I have no idea (smiling). Q. I know you haven't maybe broken it down or don't think about it, you just do what you do. ERNESTS GULBIS: You're right. You have the answer already (laughter). Q. Here is my question specifically. If you have no answer, you have no answer. ERNESTS GULBIS: Okay. Q. You start here, but before you hit, you take it to where everybody else does right in here with the elbow in. ERNESTS GULBIS: Basically for style. What I do here is just for style (laughter). Q. Just for style points? ERNESTS GULBIS: Yeah, just to be different. Q. How did that come about? Did you one day just start doing that? ERNESTS GULBIS: You play the best tennis when you don't think. It's simple. Whatever comes out, comes out. Q. Your coach didn't say, What the heck are you doing? ERNESTS GULBIS: No. He likes my forehand. I like my forehand. Q. It's a cool forehand. It's unusual. Maybe some coaches would have said something. ERNESTS GULBIS: No, no, no. I just pay no attention to it. I play like I feel. Again, the best is when you play from your subconscious and when you don't think. You cannot think on court. You don't have time. You just have to react. And, yeah, technique. You can work on certain things, but I definitely didn't work that my forehand looks specifically or better or worse. Q. What is the favorite name for your forehand? A nickname? ERNESTS GULBIS: Nickname? That's for you guys to do. Name it as you want it. Q. What did you learn about winning six matches at the French, or playing six matches? ERNESTS GULBIS: The biggest lesson I learned was that in semifinal against Novak that he felt similar to me. You know, it wasn't that I walked up on court against somebody who is overwhelming me with confidence. He's been there a lot of time. But anyway, every time is something different. Every semifinal, every final is something different. Final I never was, so I wish that I can experience that. But just to understand that you can be on the same level, that was the biggest lesson. Because I was feeling extremely tired because of the heat and because of the condition that day, because it was really humid and hot the first day of the whole two weeks. He felt the same. The first two sets I lost. I thought, That's it. The guy is a machine. But in the third set I saw him already breaking down the same as I did. So that's it about me. Yeah, even more confidence. Q. Going back further in time, do you remember doing ATP University? And what do you remember about that? When did you do it? ERNESTS GULBIS: Maybe in Disneyland in Orlando. I mean, yeah. Q. Was there any particular thing from that experience that stood out to you that you remember that you think was useful? ERNESTS GULBIS: I remember I went 3:00 in the morning swimming with Stakhovsky and we had some fun there. That's what I remember. Q. You remember your bonding experience with your peers? ERNESTS GULBIS: For me this ATP University didn't bring much. Yeah, I cannot say that it didn't bring much. For example, I didn't like what they said about how you must talk to the press, you know, that kind of stuff. For me, everybody should to be individual, you know, as I said many times. And through that, everybody's trying to be the same. But, yeah, it's basic stuff. You know, it's just about the rules. Honestly, I don't remember. Just very basic stuff. It's what you have to know. Yeah, I knew it already before, but I understand that some guys, they need to learn it. They need to be told. I don't know. Q. A question about your formal education. When did you stop attending school on a regular basis? Did you finish the equivalent of high school independently? ERNESTS GULBIS: Yeah. Well, I was going to school on a pretty regular basis until grade nine, so that means after nine years. The last three years of school I did in a sports school where I just had to do all the exams and all the studies. Like let's say you have points what you need to get. So, yeah, last three years. Last three years was different. But in the end anyway, you have to make all the exams and all the tests. By Latvian law, you have to make it just to get a diploma, same as everybody else. It's just I was lacking just the school time, you know, just lessons. But I was taking private teachers. It is different. It is different and difficult at times. My mother was very strict about me studying and not putting it aside. Q. How comfortable do you feel playing against your good friend? ERNESTS GULBIS: I answered this question already. Q. Sorry. ERNESTS GULBIS: No problem. Q. If you were in charge of the sport and could change any rule about it for play or add a new rule, what do you think you'd like to put into play or change? ERNESTS GULBIS: I would put that I could never lose (smiling). Q. Since Wimbledon, what have you heard from people about your funny vampire press conference? Have you gotten enjoyment out of it? ERNESTS GULBIS: Enjoyment? I had no emotion about it. I came here to get accreditation. The ladies, they were laughing about it. Honestly, I didn't understand what the guy wanted to ask me. That's it. It happens. Q. Do you think there are vampires in the game? ERNESTS GULBIS: I remember you. You always try to push me with some stupid questions. I remember you already for the last three tournaments. Q. You're good at avoiding questions. ERNESTS GULBIS: I am going to avoid you again. No problem. Q. Do you think there are vampires in the game? ERNESTS GULBIS: No. Q. Did you ever watch the tape of your press conference at Wimbledon and have laughs yourself? ERNESTS GULBIS: Yeah, once. Q. How was it for you? ERNESTS GULBIS: I mean, I was there. I didn't understand what he asked. What can I do? Q. You were saying you don't think you just hit. Do you think that thoughtful people or people who think a lot have a disadvantage in the game? ERNESTS GULBIS: Yeah, it's a longer discussion. Q. In a match specifically. ERNESTS GULBIS: In a match specifically? No. In a match specifically, I don't think so. In the life on road, life on tour, you know, the less you think, it's easier. You don't think, you just do. You wake up in the morning, you go to practice, you eat, you sleep. It's just part of a routine. When you start to question yourself, Why am I doing this? What are my true goals in life? What is my true motivation? Then you start to question, Why am I doing this? I'm going to be 30 years old, and I'm still warming up like a 10-year-old kid, you know, playing balls, running around. Why? For what? For example, for me I have to remind myself What is my true motivation. Q. I remember an interview with you talking about Dominic. You said you were giving him a lot of advice. It was some time ago. What is your relationship now? Are you a teacher for him? ERNESTS GULBIS: I never said that I'm teacher, but we have a good relation. He gave a lot to me by helping me to practice. Because if I see young guy who is so motivated and so eager to practice, you know, let's say I have to be not worse than him, so I push myself even more through that. When he saw me pushing more, then he was pushing more. It's a win-win situation. Q. You push each other? ERNESTS GULBIS: Hopefully. I wish for him to be on top, and he will be on top. I mean, relatively top. Top 20, top 10, I think he's going to be there. Q. You're one of a few player who has beaten the big four at tournaments this year. Do you feel the difference is with them, they're not maybe physically or mentally as strong? Do you feel the other players are catching up? ERNESTS GULBIS: I cannot speak about other players. I know that, yeah, I mean... I know only about myself. If I prepare well, if I play well, I can beat anybody. I don't care if it's the big four, big three. You name it. However you want to name it. It's for you guys to name it. For me, I walk on court and I play against my opponent. Q. Just from watching matches... ERNESTS GULBIS: I don't watch matches. Honestly, I don't. I don't watch tennis. I'm not big on analyzing who's playing better. You know, there is a joke, What was it? You know when a lion is running behind many people, you know, you don't need to be the faster than the lion, you just need to be faster than the last guy. Same here. You walk on court, you have one guy to beat. Doesn't matter what happened before. Doesn't matter. You have one guy to beat, and that's it. Simple. If you have that frame of mind, I think it's easier. Q. Going back to the question about thinking when you're on court, you may have more in common with Janko Tipsarevic than this but you both have reputations of being readers. That's one small thing. A few years ago he said he basically stopped reading things because he found it was interfering with his performance on court because he would start thinking about other things and it would be distracting. ERNESTS GULBIS: So he tries to numb his brain. Q. Basically. ERNESTS GULBIS: That's good for him (laughter). Q. But what you were talking about earlier, the thinking, all this, isn't really helpful. It's actually the discipline and the basic things. ERNESTS GULBIS: I can tell you one thing. For example, when I was in Paris, the whole two weeks I didn't read nothing, I didn't watch nothing. I was just simply routine. I was thinking about the match. I was eating the same place. I was going to sleep. Not really putting a lot of information in my head. Just trying to relax. Because the stress itself, for me it was a lot of stress and a lot of emotions on court that I didn't have any energy for anything else. If I would have energy, I would do it. I don't break myself. Okay, now God forbid I'm going to read a book because I'm going to start to think. It's not like this. Sometimes you just don't have energy. This is true, yeah, I had this in Paris. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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