Analysis for Karlovic-Gulbis (ATP Delray Beach)

Head-to-head record 0:0

Latvian young gun Ernests Gulbis will face Croatian bomber Ivo Karlovic in Delray finals. Gulbis is, just like Marat Safin was, considered to be one of the biggest talents of current tennis but the lack of concentration on tennis makes him vulnerable. If had the mental balance of the likes of Stepanek, he would be one of the greatest players nowadays. Despite having prodigious talent for his age, Gulbis can be prone to nervousness when down in a set or match, which can cause tight matches to be more mentally straining on him. Gulbis' most consistent shot is his forehand, which has been likened to that of American James Blake's for its rapid pace and relatively flat execution. His forehand is taken with a medium swing and with high levels of wrist action, which attributes to the explosive nature of the shot. His arsenal of forehand shots is nearly complete, and thus can be extremely disruptive and turn a defensive position into an offensive position. His running forehand has a slice action, but consistently lands extremely deep in the court, allowing for adequate recoil time to regain court position. Gulbis also has a particularly excellent array of finesse shots, including the high lob and drop shot, both of which he can strike from any position. His primary weakness is his backhand, which while remaining adequately deep tends to lack variety, unless a particularly advantageous situation presents itself. His foot speed is also only moderate (but have improved significantly), although his return of serve is extremely varied and dangerous, particularly on second serves and, due to his height and kick serves. This could be his main weapon against Karlovic who is much worse in the long rallies. His primary strategy is serve-and-volley, and he is the best server on tour. His height enables him to consistently serve with high speed and unique trajectory. The key point will be if Gulbis manages to return his serves. We expect a very close match here again and anything above 2.2 is worth taking for us.