Ernests Gulbis eurosport.com spy

uk.eurosport.yahoo.com: Tennis Spy: Ernests Gulbis - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

The Latvian burst on to the scene as a teenager and has impressed in one-off victories - but can he bring consistency to his brilliant yet erratic game?

Full name: Ernests Gulbis

Nationality: Latvian (Born in Riga)

Age: 20 (DOB: August 30, 1988)

World Ranking: 43

Career highlights: Made semi-finals of his first ATP event (St Petersburg in 2006) when appearing as a raw 17-year-old. Won a string of Futures and Challenger events before focusing on ATP Tour in 2008, where he made quarter-finals at Roland Garros and the Cincinnati Masters. Has picked up a number of notable scalps, including Novak Djokovic and James Blake.

General: The great hope of the Baltic states clearly has potential to beat almost anyone on his day. But as yet he has failed to take the next step - and has struggled in 2009. After terrific run to the quarter-finals of the French Open last year, he failed to make an impact in the remaining Grand Slams. Then again, he did draw Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick in the second rounds of Wimbledon and the US Open respectively, so he can hardly be blamed on that score - and he even took the first set off Nadal at Wimbledon.

Strengths: Has fantastic service action, all simplicity and hand speed. Where some big servers - Andy Roddick, for example - are all power and fury, Gulbis makes 130mph serves into the corner look simple. Also has terrifically powerful forehand, so much so that when finding the corners he has taken power-mongers such as James Blake to pieces, as he did while beating the American in Cincinnati last year. Aggressive forehand backed up by strong, versatile backhand and decent touch. Also has nice line in lobs and drop-shots.

Weakesses: As you might expect from a baseliner, his volleying is workman-like rather than match-winning. Though he's keen and reasonably quick, his reactions and anticipation leave him slightly flat-footed. Yet there's a bigger problem with his game at the moment: for some reason, he has a massive mental block and hasn't been past the second round of a tournament since Cincinnati, in the process continually blowing matches against players that he should be beating. Take ATP Barcelona last week: Gulbis cruised through the first set against Italian journeyman Potito Starace, was a break up in the second and had two further break points for a 4-1 lead - but he lost seven games in a row to let his opponent back in.

Prospects: No doubt that Gulbis has the ability. A player John Lloyd described as "pure and utter talent" when he knocked Tim Henman out of the 2007 French Open. Perhaps distracted by the wealth and fame that he began to find last year, or maybe weight of expectation that comes from being the first Latvian in the top-100. For Tennis Spy's money, it's just a matter of time, and perhaps one big victory, before he gets himself back together. A return to Roland Garros in a few weeks - the site of his best performances of 2008 - could be just the thing he needs to kick-start his season. But with a game well-suited to grass - he was the only player apart from Federer to take a set off Nadal at Wimbledon last year - he could spring a surprise or two at Queen's or SW19.

Personal: Comes from one of Latvia's power families. Son of a basketball player turned investment banker and actress mother. One grandfather was a famous Latvian film director, the other a professional basketball player. One of his four siblings, older sister Elina studied law in England while younger brother Kristops is an aspiring professional golfer based in Florida. A big fan of basketball - as you'd expect - he also enjoys football and ice hockey. Started tennis aged five. Moved to Munich at 12 where he spent six years at academy of former pro Niki Pilic. Devoted fans have set up a website called 'The importance of being Ernests' which, we think you'll agree, is the least funny and meaningful pun in the history of Latvian tennis websites.