Ernests Gulbis has perplexed tennis fans for a while now, but after Sunday's win in Delray Beach it just might be the wait is over

Seeing a player spring to life on a tennis court is always a satisfying and totally pleasant experience, especially when we know the player is extremely talented and capable of playing well, but has had a hard time putting that talent on full display.   

Ernests Gulbis of Latvia gave us that "a-ha" thrill on Sunday, after winning his first ATP title in Delray Beach  after beating "Dr. Ivo" Karlovic in straight sets. 

What most impressed me about the 21-year-old's win was his breaking Karlovic's serve three times, twice in the first set, once in the second.  That alone should earn Gulbis a gold medal of sorts.  I can't ever remember someone zeroing in on the return game to perplex the big Serb bomber the way Gulbis did on Sunday.  Most players I suspect may move their lips in a quick prayer and hope for a faint glimpse of trailing smoke as the guided missile flies by them, if they are lucky to see even that.   But Gulbis actually behaved like he was drawing beads on every serve from the time it left Karlovic's racquet until Gulbis connected with it.  He wasn't deploying the Roger Federer approach of chipping the serve back into play, he was creaming the shot.  Whether he was seeing the ball exceptionally well, or anticipating its direction, Gulbis got inside Karlovic's head when it came to his serving, and when you can manage to do that, you take away his fangs. 

He even got Dr. Ivo to double fault on championship point. 

"As good as I was playing yesterday (Saturday)," Karlovic said after the match, "this is how he was playing today."  It was Ivo's 31st birthday, so the celebration was no doubt a bit muted.  But the 6'9" player had an excellent run anyway this week, showing us yet again why he is more than just a one-trick wonder.  It was just unfortunate his game dropped that little bit in the final.  He actually has a backhand now, and although he doesn't exactly cover the court in terms of movement, his arms are so long their reach alone makes up for it. 

To Gulbis's credit though, he brought enough toys to the party to perplex Karlovic, beyond his excellent return game.  His serve is smooth, quick and powerful and he got a load of freebies with his first serves.  Everything about this guy's game is smooth and powerful; he is a real pleasure to watch when he is on like he was Sunday.  His is basically a ground game:  his forehand is big and powerful too, although he likes to slap at it with a wristy action, similar to the style of Marin Cilic.  Sometimes the lad has not quite known what to do with that forehand; it can break down, as can his focus.  Both were well- maintained on Sunday.  He ventured forward to net on several occasions, showing some crisp volleys and a willingness to mix it up when he saw an advantage. 

The question might be, why is Gulbis showing this good stuff now?  Why not a year or two ago, when he first showed signs of leaping up in the rankings after a quarterfinal showing at Roland Garros?  His new coach Hernan Gumy deserves just about all the credit.  He took Gulbis on last September, and the fit was nearly perfect from the get-go. 

Gumy probably deserves a gold medal too.  He appears now to be specializing in head cases he can coach, including Marat Safin, who occupied Gumy's time before Gulbis came along.  Marat was probably too far along towards retirement when they hooked up, so the results were bound to be mixed.  But Gulbis is certainly alive and young and kicking and Gumy is going to wring every good drop there is to wring out of this kid, I think.  His problem has been stringing the talent together over time, building the consistency, keeping mentally strong during the tough moments.  Now it's dawning on him how to really play the game. 

"I started to work with him," said Gulbis recently in an interview, "and everything was clear.  He's a really good coach.  He has helped me with every aspect of my game."

Gulbis has perplexed me for a while now, so his win on Sunday I feel is a very good omen for the men's game.  Cilic announced himself last year, this may be the year now for Gulbis.  Could maybe Tomas Berdych get it going too?  And Richard Gasquet, who has still not utilised a great deal of the talent he has? 

Ivo Karlovic has definitely signed on to the Gulbis bandwagon after Sunday.  "He was very cool, calm.  Nothing could impress him.  This year is going to be his breakthrough."

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