Rafael Nadal, pictured above, may prove a more difficult opponent for Ernests Gulbis that world no. 1 Roger Federer.
ROME — They say that to be the best, you have beat the best. That sentiment could not ring truer this week for Ernests Gulbis.
Having already knocked world no.1 Roger Federer out of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Gulbis now has the unenviable task of trying to knock out arguably the world’s best player on clay Rafael Nadal to advance to the final.
It is perhaps one of the harshest draws anyone can be given in modern day tennis, having to beat two of the game’s maestros before he can even make it into the final.
The meeting with Nadal came courtesy of victory over world no. 35 Spaniard Feliciano Lopez (7-6 (6), 6-1) in Friday’s quarterfinal.
It was another sluggish start for the Latvian, who was broken early before breaking back and for the third match in a row, Gulbis was forced to a tiebreaker to take a set.
Having lost the tie breaker, it appeared that Lopez’s spirit had also been broken, only managing to hold his serve once in the second set, as Gulbis quickly wrapped up the match.
Having now made the semifinals, Gulbis can now look forward to another big payday and another significant move up through the world rankings.
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