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ROLAND GARROS

May 24, 2015

Ernests Gulbis

PARIS, FRANCE

E. GULBIS/I. Sijsling
6-4, 6-4, 7-6
An interview with:
ERNESTS GULBIS

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Is that perhaps the best you've played this year?
ERNESTS GULBIS: Probably yes. Probably yes, because -- actually last couple matches on clay it's been getting better and better. I had some close losses against Goffin, Vesely in Rome and Madrid. As well as against Paire in Barcelona. But in Barcelona I didn't play well yet. In Rome, Madrid I played decent, and these are guys ranked 30 in the world. I lost to Goffin 7-5 in the third, and next week he played quarterfinals. So seems like I've been losing a lot of matches, but I lost to decent people. Of course from last year everybody waits wins, and I wait myself to win as well against players like this. But not everything has been going well since end of last year basically, including the off-season, including the start of the season. So it takes time. It takes a while, you know. I already told Gunther that in Nice when I played against Dominic I already started to play well, move well. Got a good win against Dolgopolov. Unfortunately that was -- if I remember last year how I felt, then it's similar how I felt in Barcelona. But Barcelona was second tournament of the clay season, and Nice is basically one of the last ones. So I'm lacking couple of weeks of decent tennis. Hopefully I can make up now. I mean, it's now or never for the clay season.

Q. Was it difficult to stay focused in the third set? Was it difficult to keep your focus?
ERNESTS GULBIS: Of course it's difficult, especially now if you're in not incredibly strong state of mind. Because I want to close out my matches as fast as possible. If I remember the match in Nice against Dolgopolov, I also was really happy that I got 5-0 up and then I could close down the set 6-1. This was my goal also today. It's a good thing that I went to the tiebreak, and then in tiebreak I didn't feel shaky, I didn't feel nervous. That's something what I can get really positive out of it.

Q. Was to the obvious choice for you to go back to Gunther?
ERNESTS GULBIS: In that period, yes. I was always a player who needed somebody who is incredibly strong in technical part of the game. Because let's say the mental things, the preparation for the matches and when I'm in my -- when I did my work, you know, I don't even need to think about tactics, about all this stuff. I just walk on court and I perform. I try to create on court. But I need to get my base done, and this is unfortunately the thing what I've been missing this year. I didn't have a long period of time where I could really practice on my base, and on my technical base as well. The off-season practice was a little bit screwed up because of shoulder problems, and then because of that, everything just collapsed. Now it's been good three weeks of practice.

Q. Dominic has won his first tournament in Nice. Obviously you two are good friends. Will there be a celebration of any kind?
ERNESTS GULBIS: Celebration?

Q. You know how to party, I understand.
ERNESTS GULBIS: That was long time ago.

Q. I think you lost your first six matches in a row, and I'm from Canada, and Bouchard lost six matches in a row and finally won one and then she lost another one. How do you get out of a streak like that? How upset do you get with yourself and how helpless do you feel sometimes?
ERNESTS GULBIS: I think the less thoughts you put into the better. If you start to think over and over again, over analyzing, at least for me it's not good. And everybody is very different. As I told last year, you know - here I told it I think the first time - that my happiness really comes from success. I haven't had success for a while. So my happiness level is not very high. And I didn't have a lot of things outside of the court which could fulfill my level of happiness, so of course I feel -- I don't want to use any words like depression or any of this kind of stuff. I don't understand depression. I'm always in a decent mood. But the level of happiness I wish was bigger. This I can get through winning. How I can get wins is just basically but putting my base work down to get through it and get through it in practice. You cannot -- me or like Bouchard, I think we reached a certain level that we can always get back to it. It's not like we started to play much worse. I think practice makes perfect. Practice is the only answer.

Q. Could you reflect for a moment on what happened in the third set, 15-15 when Igor was serving and you hold your hand up? He said he should have the point; Igor said it was his point because you did it too late.
ERNESTS GULBIS: I think that it wasn't his point. I completely disagree with him because he saw that I pull up the hand and he just want to get the point. I pull up the hand because I saw on the right side there was lady who was pulling up the -- she disturb me a little bit, so then I pull up the hand and he saw it. The referee saw it a little bit later, but...

Q. I don't know if you saw today that a fan went on the court after Roger's match on center court. Did you see that?
ERNESTS GULBIS: No.

Q. A fan went on the court and he wanted to take a picture with him, your least favorite thing, a selfie. Security reacted late. Like Federer had to react himself?
ERNESTS GULBIS: How did he react?

Q. He was pissed off.
ERNESTS GULBIS: He was pissed off.

Q. Yeah, you can watch the video. This isn't the first time someone has managed to get on the court here at Roland Garros. Years ago in the final with Rafa, stuff like that. Does that kind of stuff worry you?
ERNESTS GULBIS: No, no.

Q. You don't think anyone will charge the court when you're on it?
ERNESTS GULBIS: When they come I'm going to react.

Q. Run?
ERNESTS GULBIS: No, I'm gonna react. Maybe if somebody is big I'm going to run. Maybe if somebody smaller I might stay. (Laughter.)

Q. Since you've played so well here last year do you feel some added pressure?
ERNESTS GULBIS: No. I would feel maybe pressure if I would have a great year and then I would like to continue. But now I just feel very relieved and happy that I won the first round. I know that second round is also an opponent who I can beat. Also I saw the draw a little bit. There is really not somebody who I cannot beat in next couple rounds, so slowly, slowly I start to find my game. Today was okay. Not perfect. But now it's only Wednesday. One day off, one day practice, take it easy.

Q. As far as I understand, you stopped working briefly with Gunther and went back.
ERNESTS GULBIS: Yeah, maybe for a month I didn't practice with him.

Q. You were supposed to work with Thomas Enqvist.
ERNESTS GULBIS: No. I actually just asked him. I met him in Marseilles for five minutes, and I was already in a mood that I might try something different. Then I just ask him to help me out the week before Monte-Carlo and the week of Monte-Carlo, and then I just ask him to come to Barcelona. But it was never commitment that now we're going to keep on working. He just help me out these couple weeks. Still I was lacking, like I said in first answer, the basics, the technique stuff. So I really felt that I need to go back just to forget about some small differences. The differences were really small. I need to put it aside and work for a bigger goal.

Q. I'm doing a story on tennis travel. What aspect of travel do people not realize how difficult is it? And what is perhaps a major hassle or travel nightmare for you?
ERNESTS GULBIS: I think that there are too many people traveling in general. (Laughter.) If I wouldn't have to travel, I would stay at home. I think there are a lot of people who don't really need to travel, but they're traveling. That's why it's too many people in the airports, too many in the planes in the sky and everything. Too many. That's the only hassle. Imagine how nice it would be if you're alone in the airport. Or let's say couple hundred people. But if it's thousands and thousands... And sometimes the strikes don't help. We arrive to Rome and everybody was waiting for their bags like three and a half hours because Italian people just decided to have a small strike. These are the things which, yeah, don't even annoy you. Not anymore. They would annoy you if you go, for example, to holiday once year. If you travel every week you just go with the flow.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. How are you preparing physically for the next match?
THE MODERATOR: He just answered the question, sir.

Q. (In English.) Specifically what would you do before meeting Nicolas?
ERNESTS GULBIS: I will sleep and I will eat specifically.
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