Ernests Gulbis "doesn't like Djokovic", and is in favour of legalizing marijuana

Ernests Gulbis

Latvian Tennis player Ernests Gulbis is finally making some news for the right reasons.

After disposing of Roger Federer in the fourth round of the ongoing French Open, Gulbis defeated Tomas Berdych to enter the semi-finals of the tournament, which is his best performance at a Slam till date. He has the opportunity to go one step further if he defeats Novan Djokovic. But irrespective of whether he wins or loses, Gulbis already stands to gain a lot as he will enter the top 10 for the first time after the tournament concludes.

Of course, the 25-year-old Latvian’s journey to the top 10 has not been a bed of roses. Gulbis, who frequently but inconsistently showed his prowess as a youngster, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. His tennis suffered and he fell down out of top 100 because of which he had to play lot of Challengers and qualification matches to enter the main draws of the big tournaments. But after defeating Federer and Berdych, one can say that at least for now, Gulbis has his head on his shoulders.

More than Gulbis making the news for defeating Federer, the young player has managed to be in the spotlight for his unabashed quotes. Not only his quotes, but even his off-court activities have raised many eyebrows. Gulbis was once jailed for soliciting a prostitute when he was in Sweden playing a tournament. He has also been vocal about his rich lifestyle and his support for the legalization of marijuana. Though he has received a lot of flak for his ‘out of control’ lifestyle , Gulbis has managed to soften his critics both with the brand of tennis he has played and also with some of his entertaining quotes he has made in public.

Below are some of his most infamous quotes which have grabbed instant headlines.

“Don’t worry about me. I have my own thing. I’ve never dated a girl. I don’t let her believe that she’s my girlfriend.” – when asked whether he was dating anyone.

“I swear there is more bitchiness in men’s tennis than women’s. I don’t like Djokovic that much. We know each other since I’m 12. He was a normal guy then, but since his first big success he changed, his eyes changed.” – when asked about the camaraderie he shared with his fellow players on the men’s tour, and Novak Djokovic in particular.

“I like that the marijuana here (in Rotterdam) is legal. I’m for that. Unfortunately, tennis players cannot do that. We get checked every week. But I like the way of thinking.” – when asked what he thought about the city of Rotterdam.

“When I’m in a tournament, I don’t pay attention to those things. As strange as it sounds, I go to dinner with my team, I stay with them. What happens around, the girls, that’s … I don’t want to lose energy for that. If you meet a new person it takes energy, you know? If you meet a girl, I’m not ready to go in relationship with her straight away, so it’s like, what is in my mind? For every normal guy, in your mind is to get the girl in bed. As soon as possible. It all takes energy. In a tournament, I don’t do that.” – when asked if he gets distracted by women during tennis events.

“Hopefully they (Gulbis’ sisters) will not pursue professional tennis career. Hopefully. Because for a woman, it's tough. I wouldn't like my sisters to become professional tennis players. It's tough choice of life. A woman needs to enjoy life a little bit more. Needs to think about family, needs to think about kids. What kids you can think about until age of 27 if you're playing professional tennis, you know. That's tough for a woman, I think.” – when asked whether he thought it’s a good idea for his sisters and women in general to play tennis professionally.

“When I meet a girl, I don’t ask her what her profession is. I don’t ask if she’s a hairdresser or something else. I just meet her. And she meets me. She maybe doesn’t ask what I’m doing. Anyway, if she does ask, I usually lie. I say that I do nothing or I’m a musician or something. Suddenly, the police come and take me to jail, so I spend the night in jail for nothing, really nothing. So I’m upset with the Swedish government. It was very funny. I think every person should go to jail once.” – when asked about his experience of being jailed in Sweden on suspicion of soliciting prostitutes.

“I was really getting pissed to see who’s in the top 100. There are some guys who I don’t know who they are. Some guys, I’m sorry, with respect, they can’t play tennis. I don’t know how they got into the top 100. I think I’m much better than them. It’s a motivation.” – when asked about the level of competition on the ATP tour.

“You know, I used to say that it’s really tough to get out of the top 100, you know? So I proved to everybody that it’s not so tough, it’s pretty easy.” – when asked what had caused his fall out of the top 100 rankings.

“Yes, and I have a helicopter, a submarine and a spaceship.” – when asked whether he travels around in his father’s private jet.

“I break around 60 to 70 a year. I felt bad after going to the factory where they make the racquets and I saw all the work they do. Everything is handmade. They do everything for the players; they really think about what the players need, and then an idiot like me comes and breaks them.” – when asked about his tendency to smash his racquets during matches.

“I think all the products are for girls. The body lotions, the creams, the makeup, whatever, is just for girls. Guys should be natural. Of course you have to take care of yourself, you have to go to shower, you know, so you don’t smell bad. The rest is just natural.” – when asked why his hair was always so messy.

Despite his short temper and the controversial quotes he is known to make, Gulbis as of now is doing the right thing for himself and that is playing great tennis. Defeating Djokovic, with whom he doesn’t share a very good equation, would add another feather to his cap and probably declare the arrival of a competitor who could dislodge the top four.