Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
While Ernests Gulbis was busy making headlines in Delray Beach, we were compiling the latest
and greatest stories from around the tennis world.
Hey Tennis Fans, I’m Blair Henley and welcome to the Tennis Now News Update.
The 24-year-old Latvian was once believed to be the next big thing, reaching a career
high ranking of 21 back in 2011, but Gulbis hasn’t exactly been a model of motivation
and self-discipline. Of course, that was then…and this is now. Here’s what he had to say this
week: Quote “I was really getting pissed to see
who's in the top 100. There are some guys who—I don't know who they are. Some guys,
I'm sorry, with respect—they can't play tennis. I don't know how they got into the
top 100.” So now that Gulbis is fired up to beat all
the no-names in the top 100 who can’t play tennis, he has successfully advanced to his
first quarterfinal of the year in Delray, beating Sam Querrey Thursday in a third set
tiebreak after the American, who is already in the running for the most uninspiring player
on the ATP tour, double-faulted away the last two points of the match. Gulbis kept things
exciting, not only showing fans how to properly break a racquet, but also how to hit a technically
bizarre forehand that somehow seems to work. To each his own, as they say. John Isner and
Tommy Haas have also advanced to the quarterfinals in South Florida.
Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer are one step closer to meeting in a much anticipated final in
Acapulco, but Nadal will have to squeeze by countryman, Nicolas Almagro, first. Ranked
No. 12, Almagro will be Rafa’s first run-in with a top 15 opponent since his return.
The semis in Dubai are also set, with Federer pitted against Berdych, and Djokovic taking
on Del Potro. Maria Sharapova turned some heads off the
court at the post-Oscars Vanity Fair party in Los Angeles last Sunday, and everyone seems
to agree that she looked stunning. And there is one thing we know for sure…she looked
better than she did at last year’s Vanity Fair party. Fun fact? Sharapova is a card-carrying
member of the Screen Actors Guild. On Oscar day she tweeted: “Four hours of
training in the morning, a baby birthday stop by and now the Vanity Fair party. I've seen
it all today!” Finally, Rafa Nadal gave us some more of his
thoughts on the doping topic, agreeing with Roger Federer that positive tests should immediately
be made public. Currently positive tests are only announced if the player is deemed guilty
by an anti-doping tribunal. Given that the ITF has reported around 54 positive tests,
but only 22 anti-doping rule violations since 2007, we’d say a little more transparency
is probably a good thing. That’s all for today’s Tennis Now News
update! What do you think of Gulbis? Did you like Maria’s dress? Do you think positive
tests should be announced immediately? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section
below or on Facebook and Twitter. We’ll see you next time, here on Tennis Now.