Roland Garros 2014
06-05-2014
, 11:39 AM
06-05-2014
, 11:40 AM
Fought till the very end, still a hell of a showing from Genie backing up her Australian Open performance. Door will open, she just has to keep knocking. 
Plenty to work on too, she's only scratching the surface of her potential, can become a much more well rounded player in all facets.
Plenty to work on too, she's only scratching the surface of her potential, can become a much more well rounded player in all facets.
06-05-2014
, 12:07 PM
06-05-2014
, 12:19 PM
06-05-2014
, 12:21 PM
06-05-2014
, 12:26 PM
06-05-2014
, 01:05 PM
06-05-2014
, 01:12 PM
06-05-2014
, 01:27 PM
06-05-2014
, 01:28 PM
06-05-2014
, 01:31 PM
06-05-2014
, 01:34 PM
06-05-2014
, 01:36 PM
Can we let Petko and Genie have a 3rd place match?
06-05-2014
, 01:43 PM
06-05-2014
, 01:47 PM
06-05-2014
, 01:58 PM
06-05-2014
, 02:06 PM
06-05-2014
, 03:24 PM
06-05-2014
, 06:43 PM
I think Gulbis' coach knows Ernie likes to read 
Little bit of Genie's interview after the loss
Quote:
Former coach to Thomas Muster, Henri Leconte and Boris Becker, Austrian Gunther Bresnik’s new charge is Ernests Gulbis, whom he has transformed into a focused, hard-working player. He appears (deliberately?) to have little optimism before his semifinal against Djokovic.
On his match against Berdych
“Ernests played a truly excellent match in the quarter final. As soon as Berdych had any chances to get back in the game, Ernests took control quite brilliantly. He served very well when he needed to, especially on the second serve, sent lobs at the right time and I think his passing shots were also really effective.”
The new Gulbis
“Ernests also had a very good attitude on the court towards Berdych and throughout the tournament. Now he knows he can keep up the pace because he works hard. His win over Federer was not an end in itself. Physically, he is now tapping into his potential. I think he has a greater hitting range than before, and is particularly strong on drop shots and lobs”.
Djokovic the favourite
“Ernests hasn’t a hope against Novak. Djokovic is the favourite here, he’s tried several times before and this time he’ll be the one to lift the trophy at Roland Garros, I’m sure of it. I guarantee you.”
What are Gulbis’ chances?
“He’d need a miracle. Without a miracle there’s no chance. Ernests is playing at a high level. But he’s still 10-15% lower than Djokovic’s average. Novak plays consistently for hours, so 3 or 4 games per set would be incredible for Ernests. I’m already very happy with how the tournament’s gone. Even if Novak has an off-day, the gap is too great, he has more experience. And Djokovic really wants the title.”
On his match against Berdych
“Ernests played a truly excellent match in the quarter final. As soon as Berdych had any chances to get back in the game, Ernests took control quite brilliantly. He served very well when he needed to, especially on the second serve, sent lobs at the right time and I think his passing shots were also really effective.”
The new Gulbis
“Ernests also had a very good attitude on the court towards Berdych and throughout the tournament. Now he knows he can keep up the pace because he works hard. His win over Federer was not an end in itself. Physically, he is now tapping into his potential. I think he has a greater hitting range than before, and is particularly strong on drop shots and lobs”.
Djokovic the favourite
“Ernests hasn’t a hope against Novak. Djokovic is the favourite here, he’s tried several times before and this time he’ll be the one to lift the trophy at Roland Garros, I’m sure of it. I guarantee you.”
What are Gulbis’ chances?
“He’d need a miracle. Without a miracle there’s no chance. Ernests is playing at a high level. But he’s still 10-15% lower than Djokovic’s average. Novak plays consistently for hours, so 3 or 4 games per set would be incredible for Ernests. I’m already very happy with how the tournament’s gone. Even if Novak has an off-day, the gap is too great, he has more experience. And Djokovic really wants the title.”
Quote:
Q. The crowd was very much with you today, but how had you envisioned the match beforehand? What went for you as expected or what went wrong? What went different from your plans from last night?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Well, I think it was a tough battle, which is what I expected. I mean, I felt the whole match I didn't play as well as I have played earlier in the tournament.
You know, it's always disappointing to be a little bit off. I felt like I was trying to do what I wanted to do, which was be aggressive, go for my shots. But often I constructed the point well and then didn't finish it as well as I could.
So, I'm just going to work on that next time in practice.
Q. You seemed to tire in the third set somewhat. Was it mental, physical, or am I wrong about that?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I didn't feel tired, no. She's a great player and always puts a lot of pressure on you.
I think she kind of elevated her game a little bit later on in the match. I was still trying to do my thing, but, yeah, I had a couple chances here and there and just didn't take my opportunities when I had a few of them.
Q. I think you had two games where you had I think 40 Love and ended up losing the games. Do you remember anything about those or not?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah, I mean, that's an example of when I had a chance to have a good service hold. But like I said, she fights for every point. If I don't go for it and go try and take my chances, good players like that will take them if you don't take them.
That's part of the learning experience for me. It's important for me to just go out after it.
Q. Last year when you played her it was second round, kind of a damp day, and the place wasn't full. Can you compare the experience of that to playing her this year with a packed house and people kind of going nuts?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah, it was a great atmosphere on the court. For sure playing the semis of a slam is always exciting and, you know, I felt good on the court. The crowd was really fun. They just make it fun to play, you know, with a full stadium like that.
I enjoyed myself out there. I tried to compete my best and play my best, which, you know, I didn't quite manage to do that.
But I love playing tennis, so I still enjoyed being out there on a great stage and competing.
Q. What did you feel was the difference between the first set you played and the last one? How did you feel the experience was a bit different from your first semifinal in Australia at the beginning of the year?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I feel like I might have maybe backed off a little bit on my shots in the second and third. You know, I still had that plan in my head to keep trying to do that, but, you know, I just maybe wasn't finishing well in the second and third as much.
Yeah, I mean, I definitely felt better on the court than I did in the first semi-final. I think playing big matches like this, the more I play, the more I'll feel good out there. I felt good today.
Playing on such a big stage is definitely a big moment, but I feel like I handled it well. I feel like in the future I'll be able to handle it well as well and just keep trying to improve and get better from here.
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Well, I think it was a tough battle, which is what I expected. I mean, I felt the whole match I didn't play as well as I have played earlier in the tournament.
You know, it's always disappointing to be a little bit off. I felt like I was trying to do what I wanted to do, which was be aggressive, go for my shots. But often I constructed the point well and then didn't finish it as well as I could.
So, I'm just going to work on that next time in practice.
Q. You seemed to tire in the third set somewhat. Was it mental, physical, or am I wrong about that?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I didn't feel tired, no. She's a great player and always puts a lot of pressure on you.
I think she kind of elevated her game a little bit later on in the match. I was still trying to do my thing, but, yeah, I had a couple chances here and there and just didn't take my opportunities when I had a few of them.
Q. I think you had two games where you had I think 40 Love and ended up losing the games. Do you remember anything about those or not?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah, I mean, that's an example of when I had a chance to have a good service hold. But like I said, she fights for every point. If I don't go for it and go try and take my chances, good players like that will take them if you don't take them.
That's part of the learning experience for me. It's important for me to just go out after it.
Q. Last year when you played her it was second round, kind of a damp day, and the place wasn't full. Can you compare the experience of that to playing her this year with a packed house and people kind of going nuts?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: Yeah, it was a great atmosphere on the court. For sure playing the semis of a slam is always exciting and, you know, I felt good on the court. The crowd was really fun. They just make it fun to play, you know, with a full stadium like that.
I enjoyed myself out there. I tried to compete my best and play my best, which, you know, I didn't quite manage to do that.
But I love playing tennis, so I still enjoyed being out there on a great stage and competing.
Q. What did you feel was the difference between the first set you played and the last one? How did you feel the experience was a bit different from your first semifinal in Australia at the beginning of the year?
EUGENIE BOUCHARD: I feel like I might have maybe backed off a little bit on my shots in the second and third. You know, I still had that plan in my head to keep trying to do that, but, you know, I just maybe wasn't finishing well in the second and third as much.
Yeah, I mean, I definitely felt better on the court than I did in the first semi-final. I think playing big matches like this, the more I play, the more I'll feel good out there. I felt good today.
Playing on such a big stage is definitely a big moment, but I feel like I handled it well. I feel like in the future I'll be able to handle it well as well and just keep trying to improve and get better from here.
