Ernests Gulbis

Began playing at age five when his grandmother first brought him to a tennis court...Father, Ainars, is an investment businessman and former basketball player; mother, Milena, is a drama theatre actress...Has three sisters, Elina, who is older and finished her law degree in England; Laura and Monika who are younger and both play tennis; and one younger brother, Kristops, who is attending the Saddlebrook Academy in Florida to pursue golf....Grandfather was a starter on former Soviet Union national basketball team which won European Championships.

Speaks Latvian, Russian, English and a little German...Enjoys playing soccer, basketball and hockey...Considers hard courts his favorite surface and serve and backhand drop shot his best shot...Member of Latvian Davis Cup team and has a 15-8 career record (10-4 in singles) in 11 ties...Used to work with former ATP pro Niki Pilic and trained at Pilic's Tennis Academy in Munich (from age 12-18)...Coached by former ATP pro Hernan Gumy of Argentina (since mid-September 2009).

2005 -- Made Davis Cup debut in ties against Greece and Slovenia...Won first Futures title in Friedberg, Germany...Reached SF at Futures events in Latvia and Lithuania...

2006 -- Ranking improved over 300 spots in a season highlighted by his first ATP SF...Opened with a Futures title in Austria (d. Scherrer)...In March, won Swiss Futures title (d. Klein)...Then reached back-to-back finals at Futures in France and Sweden...Played in Davis Cup tie against Poland, falling to Przysiezny in three tie-breaks after winning first set....Reached Oberstaufen Challenger final (l. to Tabara)...Claimed first Davis Cup win against South Africa (d. Wolmarans)...In late July, lost in final at Tampere Challenger (l. to F. Mayer)...Made ATP debut in St. Petersburg and reached SF...Picked up three-set wins over Vik, Dlouhy and Hernych before falling to Ancic...In doubles, won Oberstaufen Challenger (w/Zverev)...

2007 -- Compiled consistent ATP level and Challenger results to finish in Top 70 for first time...Won 10 matches in ATP play and went 23-4 in Challengers with three titles...In February, captured Besancon (France) crown (d. Roger-Vasselin) and following month added title in Sarajevo (d. Mertl)...On clay, made Roland Garros debut and defeated Henman (l. to Montanes in 2nd RD)...Advanced to 4th RD at US Open (d. No. 8 Robredo, l. to Moya)...In October, won Mons Challenger title without dropping a set (d. Vliegen) and broke Top 50 afterwards (from No. 57 to No. 46)...Closed season with QF in St. Petersburg (l. to Cilic).

2008 -- A breakout season for young Latvian who advanced to his first QF in a Grand Slam and AMS tournament...Won a personal-best 24 matches, 14 more than previous season and reached a career-high No. 38 on Aug. 4 before finishing just outside Top 50...Began with a 7-10 record before finishing with a 17-12 mark from Roland Garros on...In March, reached QF in Las Vegas (l. to Ginepri) and following month advanced to 3rd RD in Barcelona (l. to Chela)...At Roland Garros, beat No. 8 Blake in 2nd RD en route to QF (l. to Djokovic)...On grass, reached 3rd RD at Queen’s (l. to Murray) and 2nd RD at Wimbledon (l. to Nadal in four sets)...In August, advanced to QF at AMS Cincinnati, defeating No. 8 Blake again (l. to Djokovic)...Lost to No. 8 Roddick in 2nd RD at US Open...Finished with a 4-4 mark during indoor circuit...Went 2-9 vs. Top 10 opponents and compiled marks of 13-14 on hard, 8-6 on clay and 3-2 on grass...Earned a career-high $511,457.

2009

The Latvian native finished in Top 100 for third straight year highlighted by ATP World Tour QF showings in Tokyo (l. to eventual champ Tsonga) and St. Petersburg (l. to Zeballos)…Those were only tournaments he won back-to-back matches all year…He went 1-7 vs. Top 10 opponents with his lone win coming over No. 3 Djokovic in first match of season in Brisbane…Compiled marks of 14-18 on hard, 3-6 on clay and 1-2 on grass…In doubles, captured his second career ATP World Tour title in Indianapolis (w/Tursunov)...