Brisbane R1: Ernests Gulbis defeats Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4

good one by gulbis. looks like be beefed up a bit during the off-season. hope he can continue this the whole year. :D

Rusty Djoker, poor match from his side. Say goodbye to the number 2 spot for now.
First surprise of 2009!

Ernests played pretty well and Djokovic played horribly.

From me on Jan 3:

Upsets I'm calling:

Ernie over Djoke
Sam over Soderling
Melzer over Fish
Gasquet over Tsonga (if they both get there)

:woohoo:

:woohoo: well done

a bit shaky early in 2nd set though

Finally very important win :yeah: Albeit Djokovic was in a holiday mood ;)

Fed's smiling now

wave goodbye to the no.2 spot for a long, long time, nole. you'll never be this close again, i guess.

ernie looked pretty sharp today, one of those days where his game just worked. could be the complete opposite in the next round though, as usual.

Yes! Finally Gulbis! Didn't Brainfart For Once!

:spit: some of the most horrible stuff i've seen from nole :tape: awful.

ernie :D win your first title here please :sobbing:

Good for Gulbis but Novak was AWFUL. His 1st serve percentage was in the 40s.

Gulbis played quite well! Besides a couple shaky games on serve early in the 2nd set, that is. Ernests actually could have much more easily, like 6-4, 6-1 or 6-4, 6-0. :lol: Novak was pretty terrible today.

Anyone else notice that Nole is in desperate need of a haircut? My god.

Terrible match from Djokovic.

Gulbis played quite well apart from an early second set blip.

Congratulations to Ernests and his fans. He played well. Nole was poor and didn't deserve the victory today :sad: Good luck to Ernests for the rest of the tournament.

Nole was nowhere near his best.

That aside, I am ecstatic, of course :D

Bravo! Congrats Gulbis.

so it wasnt such a tough draw for Gulbis afterall

Nice start of the season Ernie :bounce:

:spit: Pretty horrendous match from both, Nole looked bored and out of sorts the whole time, while Gulbis did his best to choke it away early on in the 2nd, but Nole was just too poor :worship:

Crap match, great outcome.

On the plus side for Djokovic, I actually like his haircut, think he looks better with it like that

Nicer haircut. Should have worn black. Shitty serve and millions of errors. This should wake him up.

Gulbis choked in the second set and yet Djokovic couldn't take advantage of that.

Well done Erno! Congrats :worship:

Nole :help:

For anyone who said he couldn't beat the top players, now you know. Congrats Ernie, molto bene fatto. :banana:

Linda :spit: :haha:

Don't understand why Djokovic looked so de-motivated out there.

Okay, first match - the game might not be there, but surely the energy levels, the intensity, the enthusiasm should be there?

Weird.

Novak was like, laughing at the end :lol:

very strange indeed, scoobs. Didn't look like he gave a damn at all, and considering he knows he's now the hunted and Gulbis is surely one of the hunters, you'd think he'd want to send a message in his opening match :shrug:

You work fast, Linda :spit:

Gulbis is fat.:eek:

Novak was like, laughing at the end :lol:

very strange indeed, scoobs. Didn't look like he gave a damn at all, and considering he knows he's now the hunted and Gulbis is surely one of the hunters, you'd think he'd want to send a message in his opening match :shrug:
Well you'd think he'd want to go into Australia as #2, which he had a good chance to do this week before that listless display.

Congrats to Gulbis. This should do him some good.
Djokovic :help:

On the plus side for Djokovic, I actually like his haircut, think he looks better with it like that

:eek: :eek: :lol:

Don't understand why Djokovic looked so de-motivated out there.

Okay, first match - the game might not be there, but surely the energy levels, the intensity, the enthusiasm should be there?

Weird.Yeah I thought that was odd too. Zip, nadda, nothing from him. :shrug:

Nole definitely didn't deserve to win with that kind of play. He's rusty, but it doesn't point directly towards doom and gloom.

Ernie, take the title :yeah:

Nice graphics Linda!
WD Ernie, nice win! :)

Well you'd think he'd want to go into Australia as #2, which he had a good chance to do this week before that listless display.You'd think..... but he's a character I don't quite understand, so I won't even try :lol:

Gulbis is fat.:eek:

And cocky too.

Yeah I thought that was odd too. Zip, nadda, nothing from him. :shrug:
I was wondering if the prospect of defending Australia was looming large in his mind already. Title defense is not an area he has excelled in thus far.

I'd be interested to see if he offers any clues in his presser.

I think I rad yesterday some article about Djokovic saying that he's ready for AO, and has no fear defending his title and that there's no reason he wouldn't win it again.. Something like what he said before Wimbledon..


WD Gulbis

Yes! Fed still number 2 for the Aus Open.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Gulbis seemed more patient in this match. He seemed to wait for opportunities more instead of trying to blast a winner on every shot.

I was wondering if the prospect of defending Australia was looming large in his mind already. Title defense is not an area he has excelled in thus far.

I'd be interested to see if he offers any clues in his presser.Maybe things aren't working out with the new racket :shrug:

And lets not forget his form was God awful throughout the second half of last season too. He won TMC, yes, but even his most ardent fans would say he didn't play that well in doing so.

Long may it continue :D

Ernie:yeah:

Ernest played good enough to win and Nole was just awful. He looked totally detached from the match and had no emotion at all.

Congrat Gulbis!

expected from the one slam wonder

who is next for Gulbis?

Finally a big win and it works great for my other favorite too!!! :D

who is next for Gulbis?

PHM

disastrous result for Gulbis fans, who will now expect their man to reach the Masters Cup (and thus be grossly disappointed)

Ah, some good news to wake up to, for a change.

disastrous result for Gulbis fans, who will now expect their man to reach the Masters Cup (and thus be grossly disappointed)

Sour grapes.

Gscstp Gscstp

Great victory for Ernests :) What impressed me most was that he served out both sets without any problems. He's been known to have slight difficulties in this area before ;)

Great victory for Ernests :) What impressed me most was that he served out both sets without any problems. He's been known to have slight difficulties in this area before ;)

one swallow doesn't make a summer ;)

Novak didn't look interested at times, it was odd. Ernests came up with some big shots at times, played a fairly solid match. Great result.

Too bad. Novak is just not going to be challenging guys like Murray and Nadal with this attitude. I really think this year will be between Nadal and Murray with Federer, Djokovic playing for the No. 3, 4 spots with Del Potro, Cilic and guys like that. Roddick will hopefully be out of the top 10 soon to open the door for some of the young guys to jump in.

Too bad. Novak is just not going to be challenging guys like Murray and Nadal with this attitude.

Too serious conclusion. Last year he won his first match of the year 7-5 2-6 6-3 against Lu. I didn't see that match but it's easy to imagine he was then in the similar mood like today. Lu isn't a player of Gulbis' caliber. Watch Nole in the 1st round of Aussie Open, it will be completely different player than today :wavey:

Smart deceiving trick by Nole here, everyone already writing him off over a meaningless loss in some MM tourney, and he'll kick ass in AO to defend his title... NID :o :cool: :)

:worship: Congrats!Ernests is a great player!:angel:

Yay! :d

Too serious conclusion. Last year he won his first match of the year 7-5 2-6 6-3 against Lu. I didn't see that match but it's easy to imagine he was then in the similar mood like today. Lu isn't a player of Gulbis' caliber. Watch Nole in the 1st round of Aussie Open, it will be completely different player than today :wavey:

agree on the the too fast/serious conclusion, but I wouldn't be surprised if pressure took it's toll and Djokovic doesn't do well in AO, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't make it past the 2R or 3R (no I'm not trying to anti-jinx him).

I guess this might be as close as he could have ever got to #2 in 2009, remains to be seen though.

Well done Gulbis! Though in truth I am happier to see Djokovic lose than I am to see Gulbis win.

Expected tank by Nole

ajmoooo Ernoooooooo

nice one gulbis. now dont go and bomb out next round

why do people here think djoker wants to be number 2 seed for AO open? this might be djoker's plan to avoid murray in the semis of AO. he definitely didn't look like he care or trying hard to win. i also think that djoker has more chance to beat nadal than murray who is actually the player to beat at the moment.

why do people here think djoker wants to be number 2 seed for AO open? this might be djoker's plan to avoid murray in the semis of AO. he definitely didn't look like he care or trying hard to win. i also think that djoker has more chance to beat nadal than murray who is actually the player to beat at the moment.
:yeah: Seriously though, it's frustrating to like a guy's game who doesn't give a shit about winning all his matches. Be it rank tactics or not.

This result isn`t that big of a surprise considering it`s the first match of the season for the players.Djokovic is always a slow starter and Gulbis is not a player to give the match a lot of rhythm.
The worst thing for Djokovic at the AO is to meet early on a player like Gulbis,Karlovic,Llodra or other players who don`t give any rhythm to the match and a few mistakes here and there can cost him the match

Nice one Ernie, whilst persusing GM in the off season, lots of people said he needed a win over a big player (nobody mentioned a player with big hair though so that's a bonus!) and he's done it. :D Hopefully, this will be the breakthrough he needs to start getting the better results he needs to improve his ranking. I also hope (if it's true what has been said) that he starts to take the sport a bit more seriously :yeah:

I'm not a Nole fan (find him a bit arrogant and like to see him lose, takes him down a peg or two) but I certainly wouldn't write him off. He'll come out all guns blazing for the Aussie. Too much of an ego not to imho.

what a loser novak is

'tanked' to avoid murray in AO semis. what a djoke...instead he will meet nadal

Congratulations to Ernests and his fans. He played well. Nole was poor and didn't deserve the victory today :sad: Good luck to Ernests for the rest of the tournament.

:(

:hug:

Don't understand why Djokovic looked so de-motivated out there.

Okay, first match - the game might not be there, but surely the energy levels, the intensity, the enthusiasm should be there?

Weird.
Maybe he is jet lagged. He came to Australia only few days ago.

Anyway, I didn't watch the match and I am glad for it.

Since Nole and Baghdatis are out, and Murray is in Doha, hope Gulbis will win tournament.

The draw was not fixed well enough it seems. So good for Ernie.

Now, as for Djokovic and comparing him to Nadal, Djokovic does have this kind of upsetting losses in smaller events, Nadal doesn't. Either because he simply wins or because he doesn't even care to enter. Djokovic is Kafelnikov-like at this one, of sort.

Murray stepped up so much only at the end of last season, so I won't speak about him yet.

Another thing is that this year may belong to the 1988s, boys become men.

Oh Clydey, such a frowny face today :sad:

well done Gulbis:yeah::D:cool:

Ernie :worship:

I always knew Djoker wasn't a bad match-up for him.

Well done Ernests. Hope you can progress a few round further in this tourney.
:)

Gulbis defies the draw and makoing progress..Will 2009 be a breakthrough year I hope so :D

Didn't see the match so I can't comment on how bad Djoko apparently played.

why do people here think djoker wants to be number 2 seed for AO open? this might be djoker's plan to avoid murray in the semis of AO. he definitely didn't look like he care or trying hard to win. i also think that djoker has more chance to beat nadal than murray who is actually the player to beat at the moment.

I think you may have a point, but well, it's not the first time that Djoko actually blew a good chance to claim the #2 spot (Hamburg 2008, anyone?) and at that time there wasn't yet any Murray-threat around.

It might just be a factor of pressure (pression haha) as well.
Also, apparently Gulbis did his job well - and even if you're Mr. Djoko, if you don't deliver the goods when you're supposed to... :o

Congrats, Ernie! :hatoff:

I've just looked for some news.
"I didn't get a lot of practice because I came (to Australia) too late."

Nole.:smash:

This was also his first match with new racket.

Apparently he will play Sydney which he didn't plan. Smart decision. :)


"I am very grateful to receive the wildcard for Sydney," Djokovic said.

"It was disappointing to lose in Brisbane but I now have another chance for more high quality matches in Sydney.

"I have heard a lot about the tournament and I am looking forward to playing there."

Nole :sad:

:haha: :haha: :haha:

Great stuff.

The year started well, it seems.

:haha: :haha: :haha:

Great stuff.

The year started well, it seems.

You like to ruffle a few feathers don't you? :lol:

Very well done, young man! :yeah: And a good, helping hand for Roger to retain his #2 as well :)

Ernie you fucking monster :D :yeah:

Some start to the year! Hope it's a sign of things to come!

Well, it's always such a jolly day when Fakervic gets his ass handed to him.

Djoker down to n.5 by mid season, mark my words.

Scary hair in your avvie will be pleased Jolangago.

Good scalp for the Latvian.

Who can blame Djoko, I would want to get out of Brisbane as quick as I could as well.

All Faker has to do is draw Safin in the first three rounds of the AO and there goes a big fat chunk of points. :D

Wow. Incredible. I literally gasped when I saw this result.

Horrible display from Djokovic. Gulbis was slightly better and atleast he didn't choke it away this time around. First match of the season, chance to gain #2 and Djokovic looked like someone put a gun to his head to make him play. I like the guy getting thrashed by Fed and Nadal:D but it was a lot better when he was hungry to get wins and acted like he cared.

Well, good for Gulbis! :bigclap:

I've always thought that he could beat Djokovic if he improved and the time was right. I feel bad for Djokovic, but I didn't see the match, so I can't really comment.

Erny will break to top 10 this year

Gulbis defies the draw and makoing progress..Will 2009 be a breakthrough year I hope so :D

Time to update your sig :o ;)

Erny will break to top 10 this year

Huhuh.. that's a.. VERY optimistic prediction ;) Don't think he's ready for that for the time being.

I would predict top-30. But it's too early to tell, it's just a single match at the moment. Maybe he'll get slapped by PHM tomorrow, and some people will quickly write him off. You know, how this tends to happen :)

Fuck you, Djokovic. I think I'll name my future son Novak - it will make it easier on me when I hit him.

Djokovic was poor all match. He looked rushed and a bit unsure of his shots. Off season rust for sure, but Gulbis looked awesome. Someone else said he beefed up over the off season, I think so. His forehand and serve looked great all match.

It really is a tough 1st round match.

He might have not played Doha to avoid playing Nadal or Federer but he couldn't avoid Gulbis.

Gulbis is really a dangerous player on plexicushion. HIs shots get such an extra bite on this surface like a Tsonga.
If he can keep his composure, he could make a nice run at this Aussie.

Hopefully richboy gets a good draw at AO, the way the ball stays low and hit there now...he could make some waves, possibly even ride one to the final.

EVEN HOTTER THAN FELIFASHION! :drool:

Saw the match. Djokovic faked it as simple as that. He didn't chase down any balls at all. Was just there to shit around. He's got some serious issues. If he really is to tank he shudn't do it so obvious because it pisses the crowd off big time just like today.

Djoker can forget about defending the AO, one less problem for Roger to worry about.

Yeah, this Joker guy is quit difficult to figure out, today he put no effort or heart into his play, just plain disgusting to watch:mad: He should be ashamed of himself

Djokovic has put it down to getting familiar with the new racquet.

He's accepted a wildcard into Sydney next week.

Djokovic has put it down to getting familiar with the new racquet.

He's accepted a wildcard into Sydney next week.

The Aussies on here aren't happy, they want the Gooch to get the last wildcard :confused:

I just found out that Djokovic won. :O

so the number 2 spot is safe for now :)

Saw the match. Djokovic faked it as simple as that. He didn't chase down any balls at all. Was just there to shit around. He's got some serious issues. If he really is to tank he shudn't do it so obvious because it pisses the crowd off big time just like today.

Could it be that Djokovic had already negotiated a wildcard for Sydney beforehand, together with big fat appearance fee, and did not want to play for 2 straight weeks before AO?

I just found out that Djokovic won. :O

so the number 2 spot is safe for now :)

you mean Federer :o

Well, it's always such a jolly day when Fakervic gets his ass handed to him.Season is started at full of speed!!!:p:p:p

time for ernests to crack in the 2nd round

You like to ruffle a few feathers don't you? :lol:Oh Yes.....Our friend reggie! You're unique, simple and ironic. Very good manners!!NiceKindGentlePoliteSoftGraciousFriendlyN eighbourlyPleasing

Yay

Oh Yes.....Our friend reggie! You're unique, simple and ironic. Very good manners!!NiceKindGentlePoliteSoftGraciousFriendlyN eighbourlyPleasingLadies and Gentleman,...... just in one word.....:worship:Reggie!!!!:worship:

hahaha.... GOOD for GULBIS:) congrats

Djokovic has put it down to getting familiar with the new racquet.

He's accepted a wildcard into Sydney next week.
what isi t?

Who can blame Djoko, I would want to get out of Brisbane as quick as I could as well.

:lol: Best post of the thread.

Djokovic has to resort to excuses. I change my racquet, I came to Aus on Sat. He was outplayed and there should be no excuses for the loss. Now the asshole has taken one of the Aussie wildcards for Sydney international.

Djokovic has to resort to excuses. I change my racquet, I came to Aus on Sat. He was outplayed and there should be no excuses for the loss. Now the asshole has taken one of the Aussie wildcards for Sydney international.

Don't blame Novak, blame Aussie officials....They are the A-holes .LOL;)

One of the most horrible matches i've ever seen from Djokovic.

Gulbis :yeah: plis show your potential sometime

Djokovic has to resort to excuses. I change my racquet, I came to Aus on Sat. He was outplayed and there should be no excuses for the loss. Now the asshole has taken one of the Aussie wildcards for Sydney international.

:haha::haha::haha::haha::haha:

The thread for laughing must be locked since Linda hasn't bumped it yet, so to get formalities out of the way:

0-1 in 2009

:haha::haha::haha::haha::haha::haha::haha:

The thread for laughing must be locked since Linda hasn't bumped it yet, so to get formalities out of the way:

0-1 in 2009

:haha::haha::haha::haha::haha::haha::haha:

It's a tragedy. The mods refuse to open it. :(

It's a tragedy. The mods refuse to open it. :(

"The Ego King has landed" has been locked too. Some terrible decisions here.