Ernests Gulbis begins his St Petersburg campaign against Lukas Rosol in the evening session later today.
Gulbis was a surprise wildcard recipient this week. Latvia may have been part of the old Soviet bloc but still wouldn't expect to see such generosities from the Russian tennis officials.
You wonder whether Gulbis might have been better off going through qualifying as the world number 51 badly needs wins right now. Up and down at the best of times, he's barely won a match since picking up the Los Angeles title at the end of July.
He's had a few tough draws this autumn, getting Mardy Fish early in Tokyo and David Nalbandian first round in Shanghai but he could definitely do with a confidence boosting run and his chance may have arisen after Gilles Simon's shock first round defeat on Monday. Gulbis could have been up against the Frenchman in round two and now he can see a clear path to the quarters.
He will be confident of beating Rosol who's on a seven match losing streak on the tour, going back to August. He's not won a set so far this autumn, getting crushed by Nalbandian in Tokyo among other losses.
Gulbis won their only previous match 7-6(5), 6-3 in the Sarajevo Challenger four years ago. Expect him to repeat the feat today.
