Tennis: It's tough at the top for Open's last star

World No 13 Ernests Gulbis, from Latvia, is now the Heineken Open favourite. Picture / Getty Images

Drop-outs and unexpected departures leave mercurial Gulbis in a lonely spot

If Ernests Gulbis appears to have a slightly stooped appearance at times today, there might be a good reason for it.

It could be that the Latvian World No 13 feels as though he is carrying the weight of the Heineken Open on his shoulders.

After the withdrawals of defending champion John Isner, Gael Monfils and four-time champion David Ferrer, the tournament lacks a bit of star quality.

That was exacerbated yesterday by the defeat of the Bryan brothers, which followed the exit of highly touted youngsters Borna Coric and Dominic Thiem.

There are still plenty of quality players in the field - world No 15 Sergio Bautista Agut, Kevin Anderson (16) and Tommy Robredo (17) - but the event lacks someone who can turn heads, who can create headlines on and off the court.

Gulbis is that man. He's a genuine talent - he reached the quarter finals of the French Open as a teenager - who has taken a long time to mature.

He's had bursts of irresistible play followed by long periods outside the top 50.

Last season felt like a breakthrough year. Gulbis reached the top 10 for the first time and won three ATP singles titles, doubling his career haul to six.

In all, he won 41 matches last year - his best season return - which included victories over five top 10 players, among them Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych.

Auckland needs that sort of form " but a few things may count against Gulbis.

He hasn't played a competitive match for nearly three months, and was bedridden for a week before arriving in Auckland last week.

"We had a good preparation in Spain," said coach Gunther Bresnik. "But after Christmas he was sick with a virus for a week. Of course he is still is the favourite and the highest-ranked player here, but he hasn't played a match yet and with the sickness ... it's not perfect."

The absence of some of the other names did not change things for Gulbis.

"For him it is simple. If he gets through the first two rounds he has a good shot to win it. But [today's] match with be very tough. [Jiri] Vesley is a good player who has already had a lot of court time in Doha and here."

Bresnik has a highly impressive CV. He guided Boris Becker for a period, and has also looked after Henri Leconte, Amos Mansdorf and former No1 doubles player Nenad Zimonjic.

He is well placed to assess the capabilities of the Latvian.

"He is very competitive and is a great athlete for his size," said Bresnik. "He has one of the top three backhands in the game. He also has a very fast mind which helps with his returning and picking the situations during a point. If his game is on he is very dangerous, as he has proved many times in the past.

"But as long as he is missing match practice he is a bit fragile " like a lot of players. He needs one or two good matches."

That will start today against Vesley. The Czech was the youngest player in the top 100 in 2013, having been ranked in the 600s just two years before. He was impressive yesterday against experienced Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, surviving some intense early pressure on his service game in both sets to win 6-3 7-6 (4).

"Gulbis is very tough," said world No 66 Vesley. "He is so aggressive, so I will have to keep him back."

3 things about Gulbis

Coaching guru
Ernests Gulbis' career is overseen by Austrian Gunther Bresnik, who has coached Boris Becker, Pat Cash, Thomas Muster and Henri Leconte.

Finals master
The Latvian has never lost an ATP singles final, winning all six of the deciders he has played in.

Big wins
The 26-year-old can boast victories over most of the top names on the circuit, including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Jo Wilfried Tsonga.