This charismatic tennis star would make an awesome addition in the top 20.
Ernests Gulbis has everything it takes to spend a lot of time in the top 20 - currently ranked #98 he has a long way to climb.
In 2008 he enjoyed a breakthrough year reaching the quarterfinals in Las Vegas, the Master's Series event in Cincinnati and at the French Open.
But the last year and a half have been quite cruel.
Since that quarterfinal showing in Cincinnati in '08 he has only made it past the 2nd round 3 times in 28 tournament postings. Those three resulted in quarterfinal losses, the most recent to Roger Federer in Doha in January. In 14 of these events he was a 1st round loser and in another 3 he lost in the qualifying. Head-scratchingly dismal.
Today he again lost a 1st round match - in San Jose to Florian Mayer, 75 64.
He is simply too good for this. At only 21 he has time to turn it around but the odds get increasing worse as he gets older. Ernests, this need to be a good year.
Photo: I took this while he practiced at the Los Angeles Open in '09.
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