Ernests Gulbis has appointed former American player Larry Stefanki as his new coach for the foreseeable future.
The former French Open semifinalist had been without a coach since May after ending his partnership with Gunther Bresnik, who also works with world No.9 Dominic Thiem. At the time Gulbis said that he wanted to find somebody that could dedicate more time coaching him and help develop his technique.
“I’m searching for not so much a tactical coach, but more of a technical coach, because I’m the kind of player who has problems maintaining his game,” he said during the French Open.
“If I don’t have a racquet in hand for a couple of days, I suddenly start to hit my forehand differently.”
Gulbis has now found somebody to fill the void, 57-year-old Stefanki. Stefanki achieved a ranking high of 35th in the world during his career on the tour with his best achievement occurring at the 1985 Indian Wells Open, when he won the title. Since retiring, he has coached some of the biggest names in tennis. Two of the players he has worked with, Marcelo Ríos and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, reached world No.1 under his guidance. He has also previously worked with Tim Henman, Andy Roddick and John McEnroe.
It is understood that the collaboration between the two began almost a month ago. Gulbis hasn’t played a match since his first round Wimbledon exit. During his absence from the tour, the Latvian has spent three weeks training in San Diego alongside Stefanki. According to the official website of the Rogers Cup, the two have been working on Gulbis’ forehand. The new tactic for the world No.66 is to not stick out his left arm when he hits a forehand.
The first test of Gulbis’ new coaching partnership and forehand will occur this week in the first round of the Rogers Cup. The Latvian will play American veteran Rajeev Ram in his opening match. Gulbis will be hoping to reproduce his run from last year when he reached the quarter-finals of the tournament as a qualifier.
Stefanki with Gulbis today. Lots of positive reinforcement and work on the forehand. pic.twitter.com/Z75sGxqPVe
— Jonathan Newman (@SportScribeCA) 26 July 2016
