Rome Masters 2013 (Internazionali BNL d'Italia)
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El Dude said:
rare to see someone's ball-striking ability doesn't even remotely correlate his mental fortitude. You'd normally think someone with that talent would develop some confidence and calmness about himself, so he can bring it day in and day out. Nah, it takes brainless ball bashing to be better than top 20.
Didi
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El Dude said:
Don't hold your breath when it comes to Gulbis. He's been on the verge of something for ages. Remember this is the same guy who lost 20+ consecutive sets at Grand Slams in 2010-2011. That would be shocking even for my grandma who never had a raquet in their hands.
Rafa serves for the 2nd set and gets broken. I might have seen this before...
herios
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ricardo said:herios said:
no no no, gulbis doesn't have the skills.... what he has is the ability to crash balls from either side, but his skill set is seriously incomplete. He either does this inhuman bull, or he plays like crap when he is normal
LOL You make me laugh. Yes, he definitely does.
Didi
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1972Murat said:
Wait, you haven't seen Florian Mayer's backhand? It makes Gulbis forehand motion look like pure artistry.
tenisplayrla08
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OMG. That was phenomenal. Got himself in an extremely deep hole. We all know how deep that hole is when you're down 0-40 to RAFA NADAL. And he just reeled off 5 points in a row to demoralize Nadal. Amazing.
Kieran said:
seriously that first set has got to be the best anyone ever played against Nadal on clay. There is just nothing like it.
tenisplayrla08
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Well.... that's the nature of these things. Gulbis is starting to miss a bit more. Hopefully he can shore it up in the third. But I doubt it. Nadal will probably win it now.
that crumbling was simply expected, good on Ernest for delaying it for so long. 25 winners against Nadal in one set on clay, has anyone else even come close to it? especially he didn't even need to get into long rallies for opportunities to hit those, but simply hit through Nadal at any given time. Third set, expect no more than one game from Ernest....
Kieran
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Some of Gulbis hitting was so huge and exaggerated brilliant that you'd have to say, there's only one way he can go from there. I think when a guy like him is playing like that, the brain is switched off and he's playing on auto. Then he starts to think, and it kills him. Nadal stuck to the job and did well to squeak that one out without a tiebreak. Nadal takes his knocks well, doesn't dwell on the loss of serve at 5-3, the 3 set points at 0-40, 5-4.
I think the third might end fairly quickly if Gulbis starts slow...
I think the third might end fairly quickly if Gulbis starts slow...
Murat Baslamisli
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ricardo said:
2006 RG final , first set, Roger's level against Rafa was the best , i my opinion.
herios said:ricardo said:herios said:
no no no, gulbis doesn't have the skills.... what he has is the ability to crash balls from either side, but his skill set is seriously incomplete. He either does this inhuman bull, or he plays like crap when he is normal
LOL You make me laugh. Yes, he definitely does.
thanks i thought that was just a honest description about him.
Kieran said:
Gulbis needs to think like he is just practicing, then he'd be fine. Problem is, he knows now he has a chance to win a real tennis match against a top player
tenisplayrla08
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OMG did y'all see that! The point for Gulbis to go up 40-15 at 1-2 (trying to get to 2-2) in the third. Wow. Just awesome.
Well that is terribly disappointing. He just needed to reign it in. Just a bit more control. But.... if you live by the all out bashing, then you gotta stick with it. And therefore, you can die by the all out bashing as well. BUT, this is once again a testament to Rafa Nadal's fight. His shear amazing ability on clay. His tenacity. It's remarkable. I hate him. But he's amazing. Gulbis just missing a few of those qualities. Namely, the mental fortitude to be a fighter. And that is the difference between champions and extremely talented amazing players.
Well that is terribly disappointing. He just needed to reign it in. Just a bit more control. But.... if you live by the all out bashing, then you gotta stick with it. And therefore, you can die by the all out bashing as well. BUT, this is once again a testament to Rafa Nadal's fight. His shear amazing ability on clay. His tenacity. It's remarkable. I hate him. But he's amazing. Gulbis just missing a few of those qualities. Namely, the mental fortitude to be a fighter. And that is the difference between champions and extremely talented amazing players.
Great level of play from Gulbis, especially that first set. It must be unbearable to play that way and still end up losing the match.
the AntiPusher
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Kieran said:The clipper!
But it missed...
And I'm gonna miss the rest of this, but it's a solid show by Gulbis, with some truly spectacular shots. Good warm-up for Rafa for the rest of the tourney...
Agreed.. Good warm up before he may have to face Djoker
kskate2 said:
Agreed, A very entertaining match. these two always produce great tennis.. Gulbis go for broke and unorthodox hitting style is fun to watch.. I wouldnt want to be his coach:blush:
