The ‘big four’ of tennis are widely considered the best players to ever play the game, but one outspoken player had an issue with all four of them during his career.
Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer were praised as much for their off-court etiquette as they were for their pure talent in the game, but one star said they made tennis a ‘joke’.
The outspoken player, who played and lost to the ‘big four’ on several occasions, took issue with their sportsmanship.
He believed they should be a bit more rough-and-ready, akin to boxing, rather than the epitome of professional.
Ernest Gulbis slammed Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray in 2014
Ernest Gulbis was a straight-talker during his time on the ATP Tour in the 2010s, and he once called the ‘big four’ boring.
“I respect Roger [Federer], Rafa [Nadal], Novak [Djokovic] and [Andy] Murray but, for me, all four of them are boring players,” said Ernest Gulbis in an interview with L’Equipe (via The Guardian).
“Their interviews are boring. Honestly, they are c— . I often go on YouTube to watch the interviews. With tennis, I quickly stop. It is a joke,” he said.
Gulbis, who reached a career high of World No. 10 and won six career titles, placed particular blame with Federer.
“It is Federer who started this fashion,” he explained. “He has a superb image of the perfect Swiss gentleman. I repeat, I respect Federer but I don’t like it that young players try to imitate him.”
“When I hear them answer like Roger, I am terrified by phrases like: ‘I had a little bit more success at certain moments and that is how I won.'”
Despite his criticism of the ‘big four’, Gulbis had a difficult record against each and every one of the players.
Ernest Gulbis’ head-to-head record against the ‘big four’
Unsurprisingly, Gulbis had a negative head-to-head record against all four of Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, and Murray – such was their dominance on the court.
Murray defeated Gulbis on five of the six occasions they met on the court, knocking the Latvian out of Wimbledon and the US Open in 2009.
Gulbis only earned one win against Djokovic, with the Serbian dispatching the Latvian on seven occasions.
That was one more win than Gulbis managed against Nadal, who beat the star seven times in a row between 2008 and 2014.
Federer, with whom Gulbis took the biggest issue, had the worst record against the star, defeating him three times out of their five meetings.
