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Ernests Gulbis, 25, says he is riding 'the last train'. Photo: AFP

Intrigue as once-divergent paths of Gulbis and Djokovic cross again at Roland Garros

Latvian's lifestyle choices made it seem unlikely he'd go toe to toe with Serbian world No 2 - until recently

AFP

The two worlds of Latvian wildman Ernests Gulbis and Serb joker Novak Djokovic collide at Roland Garros tomorrow with a place in the French Open final at stake.

Gulbis has stormed into his first major semi-final like a hurricane, with Roger Federer a high-profile casualty.

The outspoken 25-year-old has always had the talent - he just hasn't had the dedication, admitting as recently as 2012 he would often skip practice for five days.

But having described his late blossoming as riding "the last train", Gulbis, the son of one of Latvia's richest men, has latterly realised he no longer wants a life without challenges.

I never had problems in school. Tennis, everything was coming easy. I thought I'm just gonna grind in life like this, easy without any effort, and be successful. 

"I just thought everything is gonna come too easy for me because everything in life was just coming. I wasn't really thinking about it and not putting enough effort into it," he said. "I never had problems in school. Tennis, everything was coming easy. I thought I'm just gonna grind in life like this, easy without any effort, and be successful.

"And then ... s*** happened."

That included being detained by police in Sweden, accused of soliciting a prostitute, and then losing his wallet while taking a midnight Miami swim with a girl he had only just befriended.

His mother once advised him to quit the sport as his ranking slumped and he was forced to beg for wildcards into second-tier Challenger events.

He credits his move to Vienna to work with coach Gunther Bresnik, who handled Boris Becker in his prime, with helping turn his life and career around. Gone were the late nights and hangovers from his partying in Riga.

"You start to understand. Okay, first, make one step. Don't miss five days of practice. Just miss three days of practice and then two days and then one and then nothing. So it's a process."

Before their paths diverged, Gulbis and Djokovic briefly trained and bunked together in their early teens at Niki Pilic's academy in Munich.

Even then Gulbis recognised that Djokovic was destined for the big time.

"He was really professional. I remember there was one Croatian guy who was all about the girls at that age. He was dressing up. He was looking good, putting on perfume, sunglasses, going to talk to the girls," said Gulbis.

"Novak told me 'yeah, you can have anybody, can have all the girls in the world, you know; but to be really successful in tennis, you need to…' That's a kid who is 15 years old. I didn't forget."

Djokovic, who went on to be world No 1 and capture six majors, also has not forgotten the tearaway Latvian kid who slept in the room next door to him.

"We spent a lot of hours playing cards, watching TV, so we were good friends," said the Serb. "He was always somebody that was very enthusiastic about everything in life, you know, and you could see he wanted to enjoy it with open arms."

Despite his newly-found dedication, Gulbis has not given up all his old vices, admitting he'd never convert to gluten-free dining, the eating choice of Djokovic.

"My diet is full-on gluten. I like a lot of ketchup, a lot of unhealthy stuff."

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Intrigue as friends'once-divergentpaths cross again
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