A Definite Shimmer

There is a tunnel. There is light at the end of it. And I can see that light.

Oh yes. Ernests Gulbis won another match. He's in the semis of Memphis. He beat another seeded player.

What's that I see? Why, would that be another few passengers on this otherwise deserted Gulbis train which just might be heading towards the light?

Okay, so that is overstating it a bit. But this is far and away the best result that Gulbis has had in at least eighteen months - probably since RG '08, to tell the truth. I think there was only one or two occasions last year where he won two consecutive matches, let alone three. And he's beaten some really high-quality players in this tournament - first Stepanek, now Berdych. That would be men's tennis of the Czech republic (aka last year's Davis Cup runner up) taken out by Gulbis.

I know I'm getting pretty excited over something which really isn't that huge... but damn it, I've been clinging to this bandwagon for, like, ever. I need to celebrate when I have the chance.

Gulbis only barely scraped through against Berdych today - it was a third set breaker. However, considering he was down a set, I think this shows some nerve, which is something he has definitely been lacking. He won the second and steeled his way to the breaker. I didn't look closely at the stats, but he had a pretty reasonable first serve percentage as well - that's something else that has been killing him. I only saw a set of his first round in Australia, and he served, like, 37012830182 double faults. I think he served 5 against Berdych today, which is still a lot, but it's definitely getting better.

We're still a long way off reaching that light at the end of the tunnel. But I'm beginning to feel a glimmer, a shimmer of hope that the Ernests Gulbis train is heading in the right direction.