TENNIS PLAYER ERNESTS Gulbis, one of the sport’s great villains, says he celebrated his semi-final run at the French Open by blowing his winnings at a Latvian casino.
The 25-year-old won $557,000 (€411,341.81) at Roland Garros — his best performance at a major. He told Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday:
“After losing to [Novak] Djokovic, I returned to Latvia with my cousin and I went to the Casino: I bet all prize money won in Paris and I lost it.”
Gulbis is known for saying outlandish things. He got himself into trouble in Paris by saying women’s tennis players should focus more on having kids than winning titles.
So who knows if he’s telling the truth about blowing half a million dollars.
He joked about the gambling failure in an interview in the UK, but said he lost only a “percentage” of his winnings this time:
Gulbis: ”I went back home for two days, I just went to … ”
Reporter: ”Party?”
Gulbis: ”Not really party. I went a little bit to a casino to gamble away a percentage of my winnings, so I have to get it back this week.”
Reporter: ”Were you a winner or a loser in the casino?”
Gulbis: ”I was a big loser.”
Reporter: ”What game were you playing?”
Gulbis: ”Blackjack.”
Reporter: ”I love the fact that you’re still maintaining this image of a maverick figure on the tour.”
Gulbis: ”It’s not image at all.”
The video:
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A tennis player spent over half a million in a casino after reaching the French Open semis
TENNIS PLAYER ERNESTS Gulbis, one of the sport’s great villains, says he celebrated his semi-final run at the French Open by blowing his winnings at a Latvian casino.
The 25-year-old won $557,000 (€411,341.81) at Roland Garros — his best performance at a major. He told Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday:
“After losing to [Novak] Djokovic, I returned to Latvia with my cousin and I went to the Casino: I bet all prize money won in Paris and I lost it.”
Gulbis is known for saying outlandish things. He got himself into trouble in Paris by saying women’s tennis players should focus more on having kids than winning titles.
So who knows if he’s telling the truth about blowing half a million dollars.
He joked about the gambling failure in an interview in the UK, but said he lost only a “percentage” of his winnings this time:
Gulbis: ”I went back home for two days, I just went to … ”
Reporter: ”Party?”
Gulbis: ”Not really party. I went a little bit to a casino to gamble away a percentage of my winnings, so I have to get it back this week.”
Reporter: ”Were you a winner or a loser in the casino?”
Gulbis: ”I was a big loser.”
Reporter: ”What game were you playing?”
Gulbis: ”Blackjack.”
Reporter: ”I love the fact that you’re still maintaining this image of a maverick figure on the tour.”
Gulbis: ”It’s not image at all.”
The video:
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Big Spender Ernests Gulbis french open Gazzetta dello Sport Novak Djokovic reporter Roland Garros