Double act sees Latvia through to third round

Ernests and Deniss Pavlovs sealed Latvia’s spot in the third round of the Davis Cup after winning the doubles rubber in straight sets. The first four games of the match were played on Saturday before bad weather halted play, forcing it to be resumed on Sunday morning.

Ernests and Andis Juška nose Latvia ahead

Ernests and his compatriot, Andis Juška, have cleaned up the first two points of their Davis Cup tie against Bulgaria by defeating Todor Enev and Tihomir Grozdanov.

Davis Cup: The prodigal son returns

The Latvian Tennis Union has announced that Ernests will play in the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Bulgaria, according to the Latvian news portal, esports.lv.

Ruthless Murray stonewalls Latvian invasion

Caught on the back foot for the umpteenth time, Ernests Gulbis watched helplessly as Andy Murray rifled yet another devastating forehand beyond his reach and threw up his hands in frustration.

What else could I do, he seemed to cry out.

Ernests gets past Ghedin

Ernests has defeated Italian qualifier Riccardo Ghedin in straight sets in the first round of Wimbledon.

Ranked almost 200 places higher than his opponent, Ernests was never unduly troubled by Ghedin over the course of the match.

The win earns him the honour of facing either the third seed and British title hope, Andy Murray, or big-serving American, Robert Kendrick.

Ernests has a losing 0:2 head to head record against Murray and lost to Kendrick in the first round of Queen’s in 2007.

The match to determine his second-round opponent will be played later today.

WIMBLEDON R1: Ernests Gulbis (LAT) def. Riccardo Ghedin (ITA) 6:2 6:4 6:4

[UPDATED] Wimbledon assigns Ernests Italian job

As the first ball is struck at the All England Lawn Tennis Club this Monday, Ernests will do well to wonder whether his lack of matches in recent weeks is a blessing or a curse. Grand Slam matches are best-of-five-sets occasions, and players are careful not to over-exert themselves in the weeks leading up to a major, for fear of burning out midway through the tournament. However, the grass of Wimbledon is a treacherous, slick surface – a complete antithesis to the heavy red clay which Ernests left behind in Roland Garros barely a month ago.

Ernests falls from Queen’s grace

The next time Ernests rocks up at Queen’s, he’d do well to check the draw for players with the initials A.M. If anybody whose name begins with those offending letters is drawn near him: run. Pray to the rain gods. Or maybe, work on those second serves and hope that this time he will be the one to come out on top. For the second year in a row, an opponent with the initials A.M. has banished Ernests from the hallowed turf of Queen’s Club. In 2008, it was Andy Murray who answered the British cries for a home-grown prospect, flicking Ernests aside in three rain-soaked sets. This year, Ernests’ conqueror came in the form of Alberto Martin, a 30 year-old veteran from Spain. He was not over-awed by Ernests’ seeding of 13 and did his job efficiently: holding serve when necessary and breaking when opportunity arises.