We know what you’re thinking: Hernan who? You may even scratch your head when we mention the name of the player he coaches, Latvia’s young, talented, and combustible Ernests Gulbis. But while he may not have taken him into the Top 10, Gumy, a 38-year-old former pro from Argentina, showed a remarkably deft touch in turning the floppy-haired, underachieving 21-year-old’s floundering career around in 2010. Gulbis had always had the weapons, and especially the serve, to win big. But by 2009, after a few promising seasons, he’d forgotten how to use them. And his spotty work ethic and predilection for midmatch meltdowns were hardly encouraging signs for the future. All of that changed in a hurry with the addition of Gumy. Buddha-like on the sidelines, his chin always resting calmly on his palm, he watched as Gulbis won his first career tournament, in Delray Beach in February, before recording his first win over Federer, in Rome. “He’s a great guy, we get along well,” Gulbis says of Gumy. “It’s easygoing. We talk about everything.” As for Gumy, he’s happy to have so much talent to mold. And like his former pupil, the equally temperamental Marat Safin, he enjoys watching Gulbis play. “He’s entertaining, whether he’s winning, or whether he’s pissed.”
Originally published in the November/December 2010 issue of TENNIS.
2010 Aces & Faults
—Sock Hopping: Sock goes from high school to pros
—After the Hype, Miller Doesn't Bode Well: Skier tries tennis, again
—Booted: The story of Serena's injured foot
—Match of the Year: The Isner-Mahut Wimbledon epic
—Unwelcome Milestones: American mens' struggles
—Gone...And Back Again: Querrey's quick turnaround
—Swimming the Channel: Rafa does the clay-grass double
—Biggest Disappointment: Dinara Safina
—All in a Day's Work: Blake's beef with Shriver
—Coach of the Year: Hernan Gumy
—Seizing the Clay: Schiavone's unlikely title run
—Struck Out: Soderling ends Federer's semifinal streak
—Comeback, Interrupted: Henin's return cut short
—Wayne's Shame: Odesnik caught with HGH
—Dee Worst, Judge Says: The world's worst player
—Most Improved: Sam Stosur
—Player of the Year: Rafael Nadal
—Newcomer of the Year: Larry Ellison