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BNP PARIBAS OPENMarch 11, 2013Ernests GulbisINDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA E. GULBIS/A. Seppi THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Well, 13 now; on a streak. Was that one of the toughest of that 13 today? ERNESTS GULBIS: No. There were some tough ones. If you remember against Sam Querrey, Love‑4 down in the third set. Really believed I could win. Then against Tommy Haas 7‑6 in the third. So, yeah, this one was tough. This one I should win easier. This one I should ‑‑I played better. I played better than him the first set. I played better than him the whole match, I think, so... It's just that the first [] match just mentally I destroyed myself, and that's what happened. Q. Do you think this is the kind of match you would have lost, you know, in previous parts of your career? ERNESTS GULBIS: Who knows? Who knows? I just told to myself to keep focused in the second set. That's what I tried to do. Q. So you've played Nadal four times. Most of them have been close, but you haven't been able to get over the hump. Can you just talk about what would make the difference to get you the win this time? ERNESTS GULBIS: I think the way I play right now, that should make a difference. I believe that I can win. Yeah, I said it already. It doesn't ‑‑okay, it matters if I win or not, but I want to play as much as matches as possible against these top guys. Sooner or later I'm going to win something, you know, it's gonna give me extra confidence, and then just to keep it there, you know. I need to win the guys who are ranked 20 to, I don't know, to 100 easier than I did let's say today, and then I need to have enough shots against the big guys. Q. We all know what his titles are and how great he is. Can you describe facing him, what his ball feels like and how he moves? ERNESTS GULBIS: Should I describe? Q. Yes. Can you? Can you describe what it's like to play Nadal? ERNESTS GULBIS: I like to play against him because his ball and his heavy spin, it's good for my timing. I don't like when the opponents hit flat, deep balls. I like the opponents hit spin, high balls. It's easier for me to control them. So honestly I like to play against him. I just wasn't able tokeep ‑‑ let's say I had close matches. I had three sets twice, and just in the third set lack of experience, lack of fitness, lack of everything, you know, and then he just broke me down. You know, when I play him now I know how he plays. And of course he's a great player, but I believe ‑ honestly I believe ‑ that if I play my best game I can beat him. Q. Do you think you're going into this match with Nadal more confident than you've ever been in the times you have faced him before? ERNESTS GULBIS: Of course. When was the last time I won 13 matches in a row? (Smiling.) Q. Do you think the day off has helped him or hurt him? ERNESTS GULBIS: Ask him. Q. Can you just talk about how hard it is to hit a winner against him? ERNESTS GULBIS: Asking me a lot of questions about him. Q. Well, it's a big match. When you're hitting a ball against him, I would think it's not like playing a normal guy trying to hit a winner, no? ERNESTS GULBIS: I'm telling you, if I'm going to hit a winner it's gonna be a winner. Doesn't matter if it's gonna be Nadal or whoever. I'm going to go for my shots, and I want to see that‑‑ of course it's maybe is going to take me more than one shot. Maybe it's going to take me two shots. But I'm going to be ready for it. One shot one corner, one shot other corner. I want to see him get it. Q. You have had a lot of success on a bunch of different surfaces. Do you feel any one of them is harder on your body than another? ERNESTS GULBIS: Hard court, for sure, is the hardest one, because of ‑‑because it's hard court it's like running on, I don't know, asphalt where the cars go. It's really hard for your knees. But I feel good, you know. I'm not really tired. I feel nothing is really in pain. I'm surprised. I'm surprised that my body reacts really well to a lot of matches. Q. Have you had injury problems before when you had a lot of matches? ERNESTS GULBIS: When I had a lot of matches. (Smiling.) Q. Have you woken up any time in the last couple of days and said to yourself, I can't believe I'm winning this many matches in a row? ERNESTS GULBIS: No, no, I am pretty realistic guy. I wake up and I have a good sense of reality. Q. And that reality is what? ERNESTS GULBIS: Reality is that I won 13 matches in a row and that I'm playing Nadal. Q. Do you think you were fortunate to win the match against Tommy Haas in Delray Beach? ERNESTS GULBIS: Haas? Q. Yes. ERNESTS GULBIS: What about Sam Querrey, the match before, Love‑4 down? Yeah, it was even more fortunate. Q. Why do you think you pulled off those two? ERNESTS GULBIS: Because I'm mentally really, really strong. (Smiling.) Q. What was your earthquake experience like? ERNESTS GULBIS: My what? Q. Earthquake, the earthquake this morning. ERNESTS GULBIS: I didn't feel it. Q. You didn't feel it? ERNESTS GULBIS: No. You haven't been I think to the real earthquake. This was nothing. Q. Where were you when it happened? ERNESTS GULBIS: I wasn't, but my father once told me he was in Siberia hunting, and he said that there was a joke. He was sitting in one small sauna, you know, Russian small sauna where you have to sit like this(indicating crouching), and the earthquake hit and the whole sauna just collapsed. He was able to kick the door out, go out in the middle of nowhere in Siberia. That was a tough one, he said. Q. Where were you this morning? ERNESTS GULBIS: I was on court. I didn't feel it. My coach felt it. I just, I was moving. I didn't feel it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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