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WIMBLEDON

June 23, 2009

Ernests Gulbis

LONDON, ENGLAND

E. GULBIS/R. Ghedin
6-2, 6-4, 6-4

Q. Good win for you today.
ERNESTS GULBIS: Thank you.

Q. You felt it was a good win, good play for you?
ERNESTS GULBIS: It was difficult to play against him because he didn't play the typical tennis I would say because he was hitting the ball pretty flat from both sides, and he was a little bit breaking my rhythm because there was no long rallies. He didn't hit the ball as strong as I'm used to from somebody hitting against me. So it was tough to adjust. But I made -- I was serving pretty well, returns were good today, short points, and that's it.

Q. How would you describe your form coming into Wimbledon, because you had the early exit from Queen's? What did you do between then and now?
ERNESTS GULBIS: I stayed here. I practiced. I was for two weeks just practicing. Did a lot of physical workout, as well, but not too much, so I feel pretty good physically right now, and I changed some small things in my game, some technical things, which I didn't like in Queen's, because in Queen's I played terrible.
So now I think -- I feel much better than ever this year.

Q. Would it be right to say this hasn't been a great year for you?
ERNESTS GULBIS: No, it's been a bad year for me until now. But I really said many times that I knew it was going to be this way because I did a lot of physical workouts, more than I did before, and when you do something like that, you need a couple of months to adjust, let your body adjust to new muscles at least. Coordination loses a little bit, but I think I'm on the right way.
I have a good physical coach, and Niki Pilic is here with me now. He changed some technical things that he saw which was not very good. So I mean, I hope to do some good results maybe here, maybe next tournaments which I play.

Q. Why did you feel the need to become more physical? Is that part of your advancing as a player?
ERNESTS GULBIS: Yes, and because that was one of my weakest parts in my game, so I wanted to do a lot more physically. But as I said, the technical part was suffering from the game, so I didn't have the perfect feeling. Now it slowly comes back.

Q. The next game could be against Andy Murray, and you've lost twice to Andy in the past. Is that something that you look forward to, to testing yourself again against Andy?
ERNESTS GULBIS: Well, first time I lost against him, it was --

Q. Queen's?
ERNESTS GULBIS: It was Queen's, but it was a strange match because I played pretty well, he played -- I don't remember how he played, but I had a good feeling. In the third set he took medical time out when it was 5-All. Actually he didn't have nothing, he just broke my rhythm, and I wasn't an experienced enough player to deal with that at the time.
And then St. Petersburg, I just was tired of the season, so I was happy to play -- I was trying to play a good match, but I was already in my mind home. I mean, of course I don't say that I would beat him, but -- so those two matches I lost against him, but I think now if we play in this tournament, I think it's going to be like a new match and the past won't count so much.

Q. It would be on Centre Court, huge crowd, big support for Andy. Are you the sort of player who would be intimidated by that, or do you thrive on that? Do you thrive on the pressure?
ERNESTS GULBIS: You know, here -- okay, the crowd in Wimbledon, actually they're pretty fair. They will cheer more for him if I play against him. But you know, they will not disturb my game somehow. For me it doesn't matter if somebody is for my opponent. Like I played once in Macedonia. They were like showing fingers and laughing like that, so I think here it's --

Q. If you can do that, you can --
ERNESTS GULBIS: Here it's easy.

Q. And the big question obviously is can you beat Andy?
ERNESTS GULBIS: Well, he has to win first round, so when he plays that match, we will see Thursday.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about your struggles recently? This is your first win in --
ERNESTS GULBIS: My struggles?

Q. Yes, it's been tough winning. When we talked last time you said your goal was to start reaching -- you were getting past the first round and now your goal was to start getting past the second round, and then it seemed like you stopped even getting past the first round.
ERNESTS GULBIS: Yeah, it's tough because I did a lot of -- like I said, I did a lot of physical workout, and I spent less time on my tennis part. So now I think that physically I'm much better than I was ever, and tennis-wise, slowly, slowly I'm getting my form back. Okay, I drove my ranking a little bit, maybe I'll have to play a few qualifying in America.
But I think -- I just need one tournament to play good. I think I'm going to be confident then. I lack a little bit of confidence now because I didn't win a lot of matches. But I think if I make one good tournament, I think I can do much better.

Q. So you feel that the tennis is still there?
ERNESTS GULBIS: Yeah, it didn't go nowhere. It can't just disappear. Today I was playing aggressive like I did before, because for the last couple matches I didn't play the game which I am used to playing. I played something like more defensive game, but that's not my game. I understand that, and now it doesn't matter what I'm going to play aggressive and try to take my chances.

Q. How important in your life is getting to the top in tennis just against everything else that's going on in your life?
ERNESTS GULBIS: Well, if I do this thing, then it's the most important thing for me in my life. If I would do something else, then maybe not. But I spend -- it's like a full-time job. If you do a full-time job, you want to do the best that you can. So it's the most important thing.

Q. Your highest ranking was 38th and you're now down to 74. Come the end of this year, where would you like that ranking to be back up to?
ERNESTS GULBIS: Top ten (smiling). I would like to be top ten. But like I said, I'm not very confident now with my game because I didn't win a lot of matches. I know that I need just to win a couple good matches and then I think I can be a threat to the top guys with my game if I play good enough.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about why you decided to stop working with Karl-Heinz and what you're doing as far as coaches go right now?
ERNESTS GULBIS: Yes, well, we stopped working with Karl-Heinz in America because our thoughts didn't go in the same direction, just about in tennis preparation, in physical preparation. I thought that I have to do more of that, he thought that I have to do more something else, and that kind of things. And if you start to argue a little bit with your coach about these things, then I think it's better to stop and find somebody with who you are on the same page. So that's the only problem.
Now I asked Niki Pilic to come with me here, and he was in Paris, to help me in some technical things because he was with me for like five years, and he knows me the best. I think he helped me during this time. I don't think he's going to be like full-time now, but I hope maybe he will come to America to one or two tournaments. But basically I'm now working with Pat Etcheberry, the fitness coach who's very good.
As long as I know my own mistakes, it's good. So I will have Niki from time to time, I'm going to go to his academy, and so that's it.

Q. Andy Murray bulked up significantly two years ago, something like that, and it's improved his game enormously. Do you feel you need to make that sort of physical progress?
ERNESTS GULBIS: Well, I don't know if I would build up or something, but I think I did a lot of physical practice during all this year. And I think that it's going to show in my results sooner or later. When you do some really a lot of physical workout, in the first moment it shows worse because you lose your feeling for the ball, you lose your feeling for your body. But now slowly I get it back.

Q. Is this the way do you think tennis is going to go? Rafa is strong, has muscles; Andy has gone that way; a couple other players are doing that. Do you think that's a trend that you've adopted?
ERNESTS GULBIS: To be more muscle?

Q. To be physically fit.
ERNESTS GULBIS: Physically you have to be fit like you can run forever. That would be perfect. But I don't think -- everybody is different, and you're not going to see everybody muscular or something. But fit, of course. Everybody now who is playing, they're fit.

Q. Etcheberry has a reputation for some pretty tough workouts. How have you been finding them?
ERNESTS GULBIS: I like them. Very tough workouts, but he's also thinking not to -- I mean, I think he's a very good fitness coach because he gives tough workouts when he thinks that you need to do it, and then before a tournament like now, before Wimbledon, he just gave me like one week some exercises. I did every day something but not too much, not to get tired, not that affects my game. So I really like it.

Q. How long have you been working with him?
ERNESTS GULBIS: Since I finished with Karl-Heinz in America. And when it was Delray Beach week, I went to Tampa, to Pat's place, and we worked there.

End of FastScripts

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