Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Ernests Gulbis has never developed into a marquee rivalry, but the two big hitters will meet for a sixth time on Thursday at Wimbledon. Dominic Thiem and Gilles Simon are also on the schedule.
(29) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Ernests Gulbis
The clock will be turned back when Del Potro and Gulbis collide for the sixth time in their careers as second-round action at Wimbledon continues on Thursday. For various reasons, these two former top 10 players have never been able to sustain success and they have taken turns disappearing off the tennis radar screen. As such, it is hardly surprising that they have not faced each other since early in the 2014 campaign. That’s when Gulbis prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in the Rotterdam quarterfinals, but he still trails the head-to-head series 3-2.
In fact, the 28-year-old Latvian trails just about anyone in everything these days. He has plunged to No. 589 in the world due to physical problems, an incurable forehand, and general poor play. Gulbis picked up his first ATP-level victory since the 2016 French Open when he shellacked Victor Estrella Burgos 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday. Del Potro had a tougher opener against more difficult competition, beating Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4. The 32nd-ranked Argentine is 14-7 this year and coming off a clay-court swing that included a quarterfinal run in Rome and a third-round showing at the French Open (lost to Andy Murray). Del Potro remains under-ranked due to relative inactivity so his draw will get tougher in a hurry (potential third-rounder against Novak Djokovic), but for a now a date with Gulbis is just about as favorable as it gets.
Pick: Del Potro in 3
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(8) Dominic Thiem vs. Gilles Simon
At just 23 years old, Thiem has already faced Simon seven times in his career–an especially huge number given that Simon has not advanced very far in many draws since Thiem has become a force at the top of the sport. They will now square off for eighth time on Thursday at the All-England Club. The Austrian’s place in the second round was never a sure thing given his relative woes on grass compared to his prowess on clay, but he impressively routed Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday. A two-time French Open semifinalist, Thiem had previously lost to Robin Haase (Halle second round) and Ramkumar Ramanathan (Antalya second round).
The world No. 8 is 5-2 lifetime against Simon, including 4-0 in their last four matches, 2-0 in 2017, and 6-0 in their last six total sets. Thiem recently came out on top 6-4, 7-6(4) on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam and 7-6(7), 6-3 shortly thereafter in Acapulco. At No. 36 in the world, Simon has a current 11-14 record this season to blame for just barely missing out on a seed at Wimbledon. Although the 32-year-old Frenchman dropped his opening contests in Stuttgart (to Feliciano Lopez) and Halle (to Karen Khachanov), he had no trouble dismissing qualifier Nicolas Jarry in straight sets on Tuesday. Based on their past history against each other, the relative slow-playing grass courts, and Thiem’s level against Pospisil, this could be another tough day at the office for Simon.
Pick: Thiem in 4
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who ya got?
JDP in an easy 3 ( and how did Gulbis actually win a match??)…and Simon in a tough 5
yes I’m surprised at the scoreline of Gulbs d VEB…, and wow 1st ATP win in over a year…
Potro is getting getting beat in possible straight sets
Del Potro will smash Gulbis in 3. Kokkinakis is a strong form line and Gulbis’s best days are behind him.
Thiem should win 3 zip but it’s possible he might drop a set if he’s unforced error count is high for a set.
Took a small shot on Simon based on the odds. Thiem won’t go far in this tournament, so I will get it back one way or another if Simon loses.
Del Po in four and Thiem in three
JMDP in 3 and It’s-About-Thiem in 4.
I can’t wait til del Porto knocks Djokovic out if the tournament.
thiem and Delpo in three…
Del Potro 3:0 into Thiem 3:1 could be a good bet. Simon is probably a bit too quick and consistent to not win a set. It will be impressive if Thiem beats him in straight sets on grass an surface Simon has done reasonably well on.
Delpo in three
I thought Pospisil was supposed to beat Thiem who can’t play on grass ?
Messed up my bracket that one did,thanks Ricky.?
Thiem on five.Simon is tricky
U fking kidding me. Del potro is going to cost me lot of money losing a round to the scrub
You need to read site rules and cut out the profane language. It’s offensive.
If you can’t afford to lose money, then maybe you should not be placing bets!
This is a public forum and there are rules when it comes to appropriate language!
I didnt write the actual f word its abbreviation
Del potro is a piece of crap. It’s always one of these freaking donkies like del potro who everyone has to win by straight sets that cost me.
Calm down you addict, Gulbis will loose if Delpotro takes the 3rd set.
He said he was exhausted after first round match where he won 6:1, 6:1, 6:2….
he would have, yes
Come on Ernests! I’ve missed you 😉
I can’t believe that Gulbis is actually playing some good tennis! Third set TB as Delpo tries to hang in there.
It’s a miracle! or maybe inspired by his fan and GS winner Ostapenko 🙂
Well, that would be nice narrative, wouldn’t it? I’m delighted for Gulbis, but I don’t expect it to last…
Didn’t see that coming. Good on him, sometimes a long break does a world of good.
Yes. He and Janowicz are making comebacks which is awesome cuz Ernest and Jerzy are EPIC!!
Far-cry from you saying that his best days are behind him. Be careful before writing someone off so vehemently. He is an extremely talented player.
Come ON, Gillou…. steal at least a dang set from Dom the Bomb!
I mean…another set/ make this match go to 5 sets!
Sorry to see Delpo go down to Gulbis. Every so often Gulbis decides to play some quality tennis. But it never lasts.
I am not a fan of either Gulbis or JJ. Gilbis pretty much threw away his career, even though he is an extremely gifted player. JJ doesn’t have the temperament. I know he’s had injuries, but he just can’t seem to keep
It together. I don’t see either one doing anything.
It will be interesting to see Novak play Gulbis. Maybe with nothing to lose and no pressure, Gulbis will make a match of it.
Gulbis should’ve beat Novak last time they played. He had match point and missed a backhand by like half a foot or something and then had another but lost that too. It was in Montreal last year I think. And yeah I doubt gulbis is actually gonna keep up this form but I could see Jerzy progressing up the ranks further as the season moves along. He may not have a great temperament but he is a lot more motivated than Gulbis it seems. Maybe I’m wrong though but that’s how I perceive it at least.
Yup I remember the Montreal match well. But Djokovic was still stuck in his lull back then. Interestingly, Gulbis came through qualis to play him then I think, so he had 3 consecutive wins under his belt. Similar to now, I feel like he is building momentum. If he is up for it on Saturday morning, Novak could be in for a match. The caveat being that his forehand and serve don’t suffer a major break down of course!
And yes, my friend was saying back in 2012 that Janowicz needed a new coach. He has finally hired Bresnik and after watching his work with Thiem and Gulbis (to an extent as he got him into top 10), one would hope he begins to realise his potential.
Both players are frightening on their day.
I didn’t know Thiem and Bresnik parted ways, who coaches Thiem now?
Bresnik coaches both 😉 Think he’s been working with Jerzy for at least a few months now.
These commentators,its as if they see Fed plays for the first time! Come on, those shots he makes, I have/had seen those played not only by him in the past, but also by the likes of Rafa and Djoko.
Talking about Fed speaking different languages when playing at different countries, if he can speak Mandarin,then I’ll say well done to him. In fact Djoko is even more impressive when he can speak even more languages. It seems that they don’t care much about Djoko, or they don’t know him.
Seriously, among the big four, Fed plays the worse in his R2 match. Djoko played ok as his opponent wasn’t a tough one. Murray and Rafa played well as they had tougher R2 opponents.
There’s still a long way to go so I’m sure all of them will up their levels.
Lucky,
You make me laugh so hard! Love it! I get where you are coming from! It’s so true!
I want to hear Fed speak Mandarin! LOL!
?
One nadal fan making another one laugh…what a rare sight (or is it not?)…LOL!?
luckystar says AT 7:01 PM: “Talking about Fed speaking different languages when playing at different countries, if he can speak Mandarin,then I’ll say well done to him.”
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Hahahaa! It amazes me these commentators don’t know that Fed speaks languages he has learned at HOME (Swiss German & English) and some OFFICIAL languages of Switzerland.
His parents have spoken English at home because his mother is from South Africa, and there are four official languages in Switzerland.
Wikipedia: ¤¤ Switzerland has four official languages: German (65.3% total population share), French (22.4%), Italian (8.4%) and Romansh (0.6%)¤¤
Fed should learn more languages! He holds both Swiss and South African citizenship, and South Africa has 11 official languages (among them English).
He hasn’t learned to speak his wife’s native language (Slovak) and Arabic, which is the national & official language of the United Arab Emirates, where he has lived for more than 10 years!
Fed played better than Rafa… IMO.
It’s a matter of opinion, to me Fed was below par in set one, whilst his opponent was punching above his weight. After losing the first set in a TB, his opponent came back down to earth and played at his normal level befitting his ranking.
Rafa OTOH played solidly the whole match, never really being threatened even though Young served and hit hard and come forward to the net so often.
Yes, Lucky, its a matter of opinion and to some extent its irrelevant as to how good one looks during the first few rounds in a slam. The important thing is to survive the first week.
I absolutely agree with this. A player dies. PT have to be at his best in the first week. He has to get through to the second week. That’s when a player wants to peak.
Sorry, a player does not have to be at his best in the first week! *
On another note, Cilic didn’t play that well in his last match. He was on the verge of losing the 1st and 3rd set when Mayer was serving for the set on both occations. I don’t think Cilic can have that luxury against Rafa. I dont see him beating Rafa to be honest.
I already see Murray in the semis. What do you think about a potential Murray – Nadal?
Nadal should reach the final from this half. His overall level of play is better than Murray’s. Besides, Murray is 0-3 (1-9 in total sets) vs. Nadal at Wimbledon. I dont see that pattern changing this time as well.
Gulbis is the biggest combination of high talent/low work ethic on the tour. After the match, del Potro pointed out that Gulbis at his best can beat anyone. The guy is super talented. If he had worked hard and been taught to hit an actual forehand, he would have definitely been a multi-slam winner, imo. He played incredibly in beating Roger at RG a few years ago; Federer didnt’ play at all badly in that match.
I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Gulbis take out Novak this time. As he said, “I had nothing to lose today and i’ll have even less to lose tomorrow. Who knows, maybe I’ll play better.”