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.
[tweet https://twitter.com/ESPNTennis/statuses/473088683231707137]
“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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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.