Ernests Gulbis: I don’t like Djokovic, everyone should go to jail once and I like that marijuana is legal

MEET the tennis world’s most outspoken player; Ernests Gulbis doesn’t like Djokovic, thinks a lot of the top 100 players are rubbish and encourages jail time.

Gulbis says he breaks around 60 racquets a year.

IT’S been a big week for Latvian tennis star Ernests Gulbis.

First he made headlines around the world for his controversial statements about female tennis players. Gulbis suggested that perhaps women should think more about family and children than tennis.

Then he knocked Roger Federer out of the French Open — the Swiss players earliest exit since 2004.

Now we bring you a collection of his views on more worldly matters.

Whether he’s referring to his short stint in jail, his prickly relationship with Novak Djokovic, his temper on court or marijuana in Rotterdam, Gulbis has form.

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THE BEST AND WORST OF ERNESTS GULBIS

On spending a night in jail on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute ...

“When I meet a girl, I don’t ask her what her profession is. I don’t ask if she’s a hairdresser or something else. I just meet her. And she meets me. She maybe doesn’t ask what I’m doing. Anyway, if she does ask, I usually lie. I say that I do nothing or I’m a musician or something. Suddenly, the police come and take me to jail, so I spend the night in jail for nothing, really nothing. So I’m upset with the Swedish government. It was very funny. I think every person should go to jail once.”

On whether he has a girlfriend ...

“Don’t worry about me. I have my own thing. I’ve never dated a girl. I don’t let her believe that she’s my girlfriend.”

On the distraction of women during tournaments ...

“When I’m in a tournament, I don’t pay attention to those things. As strange as it sounds, I go to dinner with my team, I stay with them. What happens around, the girls, that’s … I don’t want to lose energy for that. If you meet a new person it takes energy, you know? If you meet a girl, I’m not ready to go in relationship with her straight away, so it’s like, what is in my mind? For every normal guy, in your mind is to get the girl in bed. As soon as possible. It all takes energy. In a tournament, I don’t do that.”

On Novak Djokovic ...

“I swear there is more bitchiness in men’s tennis than women’s. I don’t like Djokovic that much. We know each other since I’m 12. He was a normal guy then, but since his first big success he changed, his eyes changed.”

Gulbis is one of the more interesting characters in tennis.

On the “boring” Big Four, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray ...

“For sure, it’s too much [civility]. I respect them. Great for them. Everything works for somebody. But I miss some fire. I miss some fire that people have in boxing or basketball or hockey. People like it and it makes it more competitive. Here, it’s like, ‘He did a great game and I was a little bit better.’ No. It’s bullsh*t. ‘Sh*t, I won the match, I kicked his arse, he was worse than me, that’s it, go home.’ That’s the attitude tennis is missing.”

On his other fellow competitors ...

“I was really getting pissed to see who’s in the top 100. There are some guys who I don’t know who they are. Some guys, I’m sorry, with respect, they can’t play tennis. I don’t know how they got into the top 100. I think I’m much better than them. It’s a motivation.”

On his drop out of the top 100 ...

“You know, I used to say that it’s really tough to get out of the top 100, you know? So I proved to everybody that it’s not so tough, it’s pretty easy.”

Gulbis says he breaks around 60 racquets a year.

On rumours he flies to tournaments on his father’s private jet.

“Yes, and I have a helicopter, a submarine and a spaceship.”

On early retirement ...

“On one side, I don’t like tennis. I don’t like the travelling, I don’t like the attention, all the pressure. But on the other side, I’m thinking, ‘What else would I do? I’m 22. Would I go to college, would I stay at home and do nothing, would I think about how to make some money, or would I live on my parents’ money?’ But no, I’ve decided I would prefer to play tennis.”

On the city of Rotterdam ...

“I like that the marijuana here is legal. I’m for that. Unfortunately, tennis players cannot do that. We get checked every week. But I like the way of thinking.”

On his racquet-breaking habit ...

“I break around 60 to 70 a year. I felt bad after going to the factory where they make the racquets and I saw all the work they do. Everything is handmade. They do everything for the players; they really think about what the players need, and then an idiot like me comes and breaks them.”

Gulbis tosses a broken racquet into the crowd at Roland Garros this week.

On his messy hair ...

“I think all the products are for girls. The body lotions, the creams, the makeup, whatever, is just for girls. Guys should be natural. Of course you have to take care of yourself, you have to go to shower, you know, so you don’t smell bad. The rest is just natural.”

On what a night out on the town with him is like ...

“What do people do when they go out? They get drunk. To go out and not drink, I don’t understand it. If you go to a nightclub, what is to enjoy there? Nothing. The music is too loud, everybody’s sweating, everybody’s dancing, it’s dark, everybody’s pushing, everybody’s drunk. And if you’re the only guy sober in the nightclub, you don’t enjoy it at all. If you’re into the groove, you know, you have a couple drinks, you’re on the same level as the club, you can sometimes get something positive out of it. But it’s not what I like. I prefer to stay in my friends’ company, invite girls over, we have drinks in a normal quiet environment.”

The 18th-seeded Gulbis plays Czech Tomas Berdych in the French Open quarter-finals tonight.