There were two noticeable momentum shifts in Ernests Gulbis’ favor during his 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 upset of Roger Federer in the fourth round of the French Open on Sunday afternoon. Who knows if they affected the eventual outcome of the match, but they certainly did not hurt Gulbis on his way to the second Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career.
Trailing by a set and deadlocked at 5-5 in the second, Gulbis squandered a break point by dumping a backhand in the net. A break of a different sort quickly followed, with the Latvian opting for his foot as a rare weapon of choice.
“I have to respect every court, you know,” Gulbis joked in his post-match press conference. “I have to break at least one racket on every court of the world. Otherwise, I would show too much disrespect to Paris center court and I cannot allow this to myself. I just had to do it.”
After that incident–a relatively modest one by Gulbis’ standards–he righted the ship to hold for 6-6, win the ensuing tiebreaker, and dominate the third set 6-2. Including the ‘breaker, the world No. 17 won nine of the next 11 games after decimating his stick–from 5-6 in the second to 1-0 in the fourth.
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Trailing 5-2 in the fourth after Federer had seized an upper hand, Gulbis took a medical timeout for what looked like a lower-back issue. The underdog left the court for seven minutes to receive treatment, then came back out and promptly won two straight games. Federer managed to hold on his second time of asking at 5-4, but the 32-year-old Swiss never completely got back on track. Following the medical timeout, Gulbis won eight of the match’s final 12 games.
“I’m honest,” the 18th seed assured. “I’m not big on medical timeouts. I don’t like to take it, but I take it when it’s really necessary. It probably was my third medical timeout in life. I didn’t want to take it in the fifth set, so I took it in the end of the fourth set. Unfortunately, it was before his serve. I don’t like to do it, but I just had to do it. Otherwise I was scared a little bit to pull a muscle, and I had already a tear in the muscle in that area. So I just was being cautious.
“I know the feeling. You know, it’s not nice to sit there for three minutes and to wait for somebody, but it’s part of it. What can I do?”
“I went through the same thing against (Dmitry) Tursunov,” Federer commented. “So if the rules allow you to do that, you know, what can you do? There is nothing much. It’s definitely something that hasn’t happened very often against me. Back‑to‑back matches, they leave the court, go for treatment, and then come back. You don’t know what they were doing. Must be lower back or thigh or groin or something like that, because the rest they have to do on the court. So, I mean, that’s part of the game, you know. In the past I guess it’s been abused much more than today. But still, what can you tell? He didn’t look hurt in any way. But if you can use it, you know, might as well do it.
“Clearly you don’t want anybody to abuse it, you know. I hope that Ernests didn’t, or whatever, whoever did it doesn’t do it for that.”
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When players leaves the Ct, you hope it is not a ploy & that they are injured & can’t be treat on Ct. But, you never really know. Depends on integrity of player involved if it was a ploy or not.
Does anybody know when the MTO was first introduced for tennis?
The complex rules governing them are constantly being updated. Not surprisingly it sometimes appears the umpire and court officials struggle to interpret and apply them consistently. The impression I get is they err on the side of leniency for obvious reasons: to do otherwise is to risk getting it wrong and causing a player to continue without treatment resulting in a what might have been minor becoming a serious injury.
When a player calls for the trainer while trailing in a match, and then comes storming back to win, the genuine need for an MTO will inevitably be questioned.
If a player takes an MTO and comes back playing better is that not proof that he needed the MTO?
Gulbis smashes his racquet all the time, why is it an issue just because he beat Federer? Nole actually smashed the Perrier bench during the SF against Rafa last year then played better after that. He even left the court after the 2nd set and nobody questioned his integrity.
We didn’t have a thread when Federer took a toilet break against Davy which he later admitted was gamesmanship, did we? Everyone should be judged by the same standards.
nadline10 (at 7:12 am)
—We didn’t have a thread when Federer took a toilet break against Davy…—
Fed has also a long list of Medical Time Outs.
At Wimbledon 2013
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/473378323436150784/photo/1
Correction: …Wimbledon 2003…
Fed took a MTO in the third set of a round robin match at the 2008 (he was a little bit older than Gulbis now) Masters Cup against Andy Murray, after being down a break. He needed a back massage.
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/473380648162705408/photo/1
^^^^’ If a player takes an MTO and comes back playing better is that not proof that he needed the MTO?
It depends on the circumstances and the injury/problem. Not all MOTs are equal. Nor can suspected abuse of the system be proved beyond all reasonable doubt.
ed251137 (at 10:04 am)
Isn’t this ablatant gamesmanship:
news.com.au ¤¤¤ But the Swiss maestro admitted he feared the worst when back pain forced him off court for treatment during the first set. He recovered and eventually won the match 7-6 6-1 4-6 6-3 in 3 hours and 11 minutes. /—/
“I thought I was in big trouble early in the first set,” Federerr said. /—/
“When I went off for treatment, I was in a lot of pain. The treatment helped, as did the pain-killers.
“It defintely started to feel better as game went on.
“I was able to play some really good tennis. I had nothing to lose, I was able to free up a bit and go for it.”
Malisse was serving for the first set at 6-5 when Federer broke back, forcing a tie-breaker and changing the momentum of the match.¤¤
http://www.news.com.au/sport/tennis/roger-federer-plays-through-pain-to-set-new-record-at-wimbledon/story-fndkzym4-1226415156129
correction:
ablatant -> blatant
My only interest in Gulbis’s antics was seeing how they would be perceived by the Federazzi. Dead silence about it on the net. Considering how they go on and on about “Rafa’s MTOs”, I am kinda glad Gulbis took his MOT because it exposed the Federazzi’s hypocrisy.
It’s a myth that players can only take MTOs before their serve. There in nothing in the ATP RULEBOOK that says so. It’s a rule dreamed up by Fedfans to give Rafa a bad name.
If a player is injured,they need treatment immediately, not at a stipulated time. Tennis is the only sport where players are expected to play whilst injured.
The umpire would not allow an MTO if it was against the rules.
No one is above gamesmanship in sport. Footballers do it all the time, stretching their fall to land inside the box for a penalty when tackled, or just plain diving to fake an illegal attack, or wincing for ages. checking with one eye to see if the referee is looking so that a player would be sent off.
—Gulbis took a medical timeout for what looked like a lower-back issue. The underdog left the court for seven minutes to receive treatment—
Gulbis did the same what Federer did in Wimbledon!
—“I went through the same thing against (Dmitry) Tursunov,” Federer commented. “So if the rules allow you to do that, you know, what can you do? There is nothing much. It’s definitely something that hasn’t happened very often against me. Back‑to‑back matches, they leave the court, go for treatment, and then come back. —
And Xavier Malisse went through the same against Federer at Wimbledon in 2012!
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/473364243858096128/photo/1
Booooooooooo to Federer and the legion of the Federazzi!
I’m not a card carrying Gulbis fan, I’m not even a fan; in fact I am completely neutral about him but how many MTOs has Gulbis had in his career for him to be vilified just because he took one in a match that Roger lost.
Fed is just another player. He has to put up with what all other players have to put up with during a match. Most of Roger’s pigeons has retired and he is having to play to win, something he is not used to.
‘Most of Roger’s pigeons HAVE retired
“Gulbis uses…medical timeout to seize momentum vs. Federer”
Wow! This sounds familiar! I think, the legionaries of the Fedrazzi have written this type of comments on the Internet for years!
Going by the statements here, Ricky appears to be a Federazzi, no.
More than Fed fans, it’s Rafa fans who seem to be making out an issue of the MTO.
As @nadline states – how many MTOs has Gulbis had in his career for him to be vilified just because he took one in a match that Roger lost.
That should suffice why there’s not much of an outbreak for his MTO use.
And it was not Fed who brought up the topic, it was the press. He had to reply to it. And as far as I can interpret, he wasn’t questioning Gulbis integrity. It was just a general reply.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Federer and pro-Fed journos are the source of all (almost?) the blatant falsifications the legionaries of the Federazzi spread in forums.
That was a response to people here saying Gulbis should clean up his act, questioning his motive for the MTO.
^^^^@ 9:20am
My comment about ‘cleaning up his act’ was strictly in reference to his on court behaviour, attitude to authority, and intemperate comments about other players.
It’s true I remain suspicious about the timing of yesterday’s MTO but I did not suggest he makes a habit of using them for tactical reasons. The very fact he has taken so few in the past – in spite of his very physical game – is the very reason why the suspicion arose that it happened when it did.
“As @nadline states – how many MTOs has Gulbis had in his career for him to be vilified just because he took one in a match that Roger lost.
That should suffice why there’s not much of an outbreak for his MTO use.”
Aah, got it @abhirf. So when the Federazzi bleat about “Rafa’s MTO’s” it’s not the MTO’s per se that rankle with them, it’s the FREQUENCY of Rafa perceived MTOs. So Rafa’s sin is getting injured frequently, not getting injured in of itself.
Pardon me, but it seems Rafa is being blamed for something he cannot control (how often he gets injured) and given a pass for something he is in control of (when he takes an MTO).
Strange……..
^^^Sorry, meant to say, “So Rafa’s sin is getting injured frequently, not taking the MTO in of itself.”
Sorry, can’t help it. But it seems that way. As Fed said, neither the players nor the viewers know what goes on behind the scene. And the timing of these MTO’s don’t help the cause much.
The public tends to go vocal and irrational about what they don’t know. Normal human psychology!
abhirf@June 2, 2014 at 10:12 am
—The public tends to go vocal and irrational about what they don’t know.—
It depends on ‘the public’!
M.Llodra took a MTO at 2 sets down and 5-6 40:40 in the third set. I didn’t hear anybody booing!
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/471328918830841856/photo/1
Rafa doesn’t come into this at all. This is just about Gulbis and it proves that Fedfans just vilify anyone who beats him.
Sorry, but I have not seen any outrage on Fedfan’s part on the Gulbis drama, quite the opposite in fact. This is why it’s all hypocrisy for me.
The general attitude across the net from Fedfans is, “it’s part of the game”. My point is, why is it part of the game when it’s Gulbis but malfeasance when it’s Rafa. My “question” being directed at the Federazzi fraternity of course.
“If a player takes an MTO and comes back playing better is that not proof that he needed the MTO? ”
To me it’s proof that he needed the MTO to improve his performance! In which case, to be fair, the opponent should also be afforded the opportunity to do the same.
I believe there are genuine cases where MTOs are needed and times when they are used as gamesmanship. Unfortunately but understandably, us fans are selective in who we accuse of either.
^^ exactly!
Even the BBC announced about Gulbis’s gamesmanship being the reason that Fed lost.
I think the BBC (bless) is firmly in the “Fed is God” camp, like most mainstream media outlets, and would be happy to clutch at any straw to explain his loss. Thankfully Fed dampened down any potential hysteria by basically saying it is what is, the MTO that is.
I have always wondered if announcers who talk with a British accent have a Swiss bank account.
Rafa doesn’t even take that many MTOs. How many MTOs has Rafa taken in the last 3 years or even 5 year. In 2011 when he was constantly losing to Nole I don’t remember him taking any MTO during their matches.
Some asked Fedfans on TW to list all Nadal’s MTOs over the years and they couldn’t because there aren’t as many as they imply. It’s all a figment of their imagination.
^^Agree!
The other side of this MTO is that, the player who receives the treatment starts playing better (which should be the case usually), while the one left on the court suddenly goes into a slump usually which some decipher it to be due to loss of momentum and hence start accusing the other player of gamesmanship.
Why the other player goes in a slump is something I haven’t been able to understand at all?
“Why the other player goes in a slump is something I haven’t been able to understand at all?”
Good question, I would also love to know the answer. The general view is that the other player’s momentum is halted, but this implies that momentum SHIFTS from the player not taking the MTO to the one who is. Strange.
I think the answer is that the player who takes an MTO was playing badly because something was not right so naturally after treatment he plays better but the other player still plays at the same level.
I think it happens because the on court player becomes nervy about what to expexct from the other player. It’s the nerves and anxiety that appear to get the better of him.
There are players who fake distress but do not actually take an MTO. This is distracting for his opponent because they think they are playing against someone who is unable to reach the ball or run or serve well then once they are off their guard the ‘unfit’ player pounces catching them unawares.
That way, Muzza will top the list for coaxing his opponents the most!
Monfils is another one.
Yeah always clutching his legs and back 🙂 And the face language..oh Muzza
I can handle Gulbis’ explaination, and he hasn’t taken many in the past…and he did show a good amount, the deserved amount!!, of respect for the GOAT.
Gulbis uses… MTO to seize momentum?
What do you make of Gulbis’ racket-smashing habit?
Spoiled brat
Not cool, but plenty of others do it
Just Gulbis being Gulbis
Great for the sport
Wow Ricky. Very… how you say…. Tennis-X of you.
I didn’t vote because I don’t agree with any of the options listed in your poll.
Gulbis showed signs of back/leg problems earlier in the match. His explanation was fine to me and in Fed’s presser, he didn’t say anything accusatory towards Gulbis.
It was unfortunate and that’s about it really.
If anything, this is the non-story.
Sorry that Fed lost. I really do think he’d be more of a challenge for Nole than Gulbis (unless Gulbis is consistently mentally focussed for the whole match). Tsonga played crap. I can’t see him ever making it back to Top 10.
#MuchAdoAboutNada
Jankovic is the Queen of MTOs.
THIS is why I find it hard to get behind The Fed…
https://twitter.com/bgtennisnation/status/473077897557991424
#FederazziFawning
If Gulbis had beaten Rafa yesterday under the same circumstances, nothing would have been said about Gulbis’s antics or his MTO. Instead, they would have been heaping praise on Gulbis, telling us that he is the best player never to win a slam, Stan would have been back in the headlines, Sod would have come out of retirement in the media, Almagro, Ferru and Dolgo would all be shining once more.
If one MTO by Gulbis is enough to distract Fe into losing then he didn’t stand much chance of winning in the first place. Fed has been known to smash his racquet on court as well.
Ricky’s just looking for sensationalism and its rewards ala Fedole-X “staff”.
#EtTuTenngrand?
^^Please do not compare Ricky to “those people who I cannot bring myself to mention”…………..
^ this
Indeed. The fact is that Roger did win that fourth set after Gulbis came back from the MTO. Can anyone reliably say that even so the MTO disrupted his momentum so much that it made a difference as to who was going to win the fifth? That takes a whole lot of stretching with the imagination.
And. We really do not know whether there was any gamesmanship involved on behalf of Gulbis. We just don’t, It was only his third or so on the ATP circuit. On the other hand it was a match against Roger that was within his reach. We just don’t know. Personally I give Gulbis the benefit of the doubt, which is probably all we can reasonably do.
Roger is definitely one of the all time greats. Even so we don’t have to see everything that is near him in a distorted manner.
my ^this was for nadline @1:44pm
That’s it in a nutshell.
When Nole broke his racquet during the 1st set in Madrid when Rafa was dominating him the commies said that was exactly what he had to do to psyche himself up. Double standards or what?
What commies said otherwise about Gulbis?
https://twitter.com/SI_BTBaseline/status/473456226450538496
all this also minuscule storms compared to growing controversies surrounding the qatar world cup (2022) and possibly also russia (2018)
As MTOs are part of the game, the players should be well prepared mentally of the fact that MTOs can be used by their opponents to disrupt their momentum whether the reason is genuine or not. So, instead of accusing players of gamesmanship, players and coaches/psychologists should add one more chapter to their training regime – ‘How to deal with MTOs, rain and other distractions on a tennis court?’
Fed hasn’t always succeeded in distracting the opponent.
List of Federer MTOs before losing the match; before the age of 28 [from the Oregonian]:
– in the fifth set of the Australian Open 2005 semifinal against Marat Safin after he fell behind in the set. He needed a back massage;
– in the fifth set of the Masters Cup 2005 final against David Nalbandian after he fell behind in the fifth set. He needed a leg massage;
– in the second set, down a set and a break, in the second round of Indian Wells in 2007 against Guillermo Canas to have his foot blisters retaped. He lost the match. (He claimed his feet were healed at the next event in Miami. He lost again in a third-set breaker in the fourth round to none other than Guillermo Canas.);
– in the third set of a round robin match at the 2008 Masters Cup against Andy Murray, after being down a break. He needed a back massage.¤¤
Fed won the 4th set right. What is this hue and cry all about I fail to understand?
And if a 7 minute MTO can shift momentum of a 17 slam winner and make him loose, how is he called the GOAT? Isnt he supposed to be above all this and still have his talent shine?
Let us give credit to Gulbis. He took it to Federer and just did not let him in the match in 5th set.
Forecast rain won’t help Rafa either…
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11021018
Good interview with Gulbis. Even though to me he never seems nervous, he admitted he was very nervous vs Fed. The key for Gulbis vs Nole will be the first set should they meet. If he could somehow win that first set, he has a fighting chance. If not, Nole will not give him a second look the way Fed did.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11021084
I still like this guy but his recent comments while honest, were quite stupid.
^^^An excellent example of the point Gulbis made about one-on-one interviews versus the ubiquitous post match pressers. I’m starting to warm to the guy.
There have been quite a few such interviews during RG. I hope this trend continues.
I’m a Federer fan (though, I tend to like most of the top players for their differences, including Nadal, so I’m not as crazy as what seems to be perceived by most of the people here), and I’ve long visited this website, mainly because I think a lot of people who post do know quite a bit about what they’re saying, even if it’s heavily weighted with Nadal fans. That said, I didn’t leave the match thinking anything about the MTO, to be perfectly honest. I also don’t really ever think of Nadal in terms of medical timeouts, so that sort of comment surprises me. I honestly can’t think of many times he’s taken then in a match, and I like to think I can recall basically every match he’s played, at least the last few years. I may be missing some, but if Federer fans are making that claim, I’d suggest just ignoring it (though I’m also the fan who thinks you don’t have to hate Nadal to like Federer, and vice versa). He’s had his injuries throughout his career, but he usually withdraws or doesn’t play. That’s different than in-match MTOs. Maybe it’s just a factor of clouded vision, but I also don’t think simply posting Federer taking a MTO at Wimbledon in 2012 against Malisse really does much. Federer never blamed the MTO for the loss, and I remember commentators going on about how fragile and poor Federer’s movement was in that match. Much like Nadal in Oz this year, it’s fairly clear, especially with a back problem. Granted, it’s hard to say, “It’s only legit if it’s 100% visible”, since that’s incredibly subjective, so ultimately MTOs will always be somewhat controversial, since only one person really knows if it’s a ploy or not. If it’s the same for everyone, we might as well give everyone the benefit of the doubt, even if it looks visibly suspicious to us (and that it might look more suspicious if someone is taking a MTO against our favorite player, etc.)
I left the match thinking much more about the 5-3 40-15 point in the 2nd set than the MTO. The only reason the MTO came into my mind was that 1.) he didn’t, at least to me and the commentators, seem to be especially inhibited, and 2.) he came out basically going all out for shots and all were all going in. That said, I don’t think the MTO had much to do with the change in momentum. Gulbis became more aggressive, Federer became more passive, and Federer (stupidly) reverted back to BH to BH tactics that lost him the 2nd and 3rd set. Put those things together, and you end up with a 3rd set that looks roughly what it ultimately looked like.
I also am far more disappointed in how Federer lost than the fact that he did lose. Federer making the semi-finals at Roland Garros is about all he can realistically do these days. While the R16 isn’t a great result by his standards, it’s also not the end of the world. All of the top guys have had far worse results and done just fine after. What did frustrate me was his passivity when it mattered and his mental collapse after losing the set points in the 2nd set. I still think he’s viable on grass, but I do think his nerve in the big moments is not quite what it used to be — and that will have to change if he’s really to challenge at Wimbledon, MTOs or not.
good stuff
Great stuff. I don’t think any player can stand on the moral high ground and say they’ve never practised gamesmanship one way or another it’s part and parcel of any sport. On this occasion, I would give Gulbus the benefit of the doubt.
Basically, it’s so unfair the way Rafa is targeted and vilified for just blowing his nose.
nadline10 (at 12:13 pm)
—it’s so unfair the way Rafa is targeted and vilified for just blowing his nose—
Obviously they are well paid.
Hello,
Please post again as often as you want to!
Guest presents a rational, unbiased view of the thorny MTO debate backed up with considerable insight.
It is all too easy to jump in with a ‘knee jerk’ reaction and cry foul particularly if one is already antipathetic towards a player.
I stand guilty as accused vis a vis the Gulbis incident although I did temper my original comment with the observation that Federer is far too experienced to have allowed it to distract him, if indeed that is what happened.