Gulbis arrives at the big stage

Any eyes that would have been fixed Delray Beach over the weekendmay just have witnessed the coming of age of Ernests Gulbis.

The Latvian has long been talked about as a potential star but has struggled to live up to expectations.

Gulbis dreamed of winning an ATP Tour event after picking up a tennis racquet at the age of five.

And last weekend that dream became reality when he beat Croatian Ivo Karlovic 6-2 6-3 in the final of the Delray Beach International.

Not many players master the 6ft 10in giant's serve so successfully and it was the culmination of a week in which he did not drop a set.

At 21, Gulbis is still very young, but, when you compare his progress to that of other players who have broken into the top 100 as teenagers, it is easy to see where the accusations of underachievement have come from.

Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro were all in the top 10 at Gulbis' age, the latter two having won grand slam titles.

When Tim Henman was drawn against the Latvian in the first round of the French Open in 2007, he was written off as a nobody.

But he was already in the top 100 and demonstrated his talent by dumping out the former world number four in straight sets.

His progress since then, though, has been patchy.

The highlight was a quarter-final appearance at Roland Garros in 2008, while he reached his highest ranking of 38 later that year.

Last year was a disappointment and he briefly dropped outside the top 100 before ending the season at 90.

He turned to coach Hernan Gumy, who previously worked with Marat Safin, towards the close of the year and his upturn in form in the first two months of this season indicates the partnership is working well.

Gulbis' first main tour title brought a cheque for US dollars 75,700 and enough ranking points to lift him back into the top 50.

He said: "I always dreamed of winning an ATP World Tour title one day. I always knew that I was going to be a tennis player; when I saw some of the matches on TV, I thought that I can be there.

"I always had this feeling that someday it would happen."

And the 21-year-old refutes suggestions it was the weight of expectation that caused his career to stall.

"There were many other things that affected me - my coaching change, my knee problems, my practice scheduling, my thinking of life, my priorities, what is more important for me. So, now I understand that tennis is top two in my life, maybe not the biggest priority, but that's my job," he said.

"Both my tennis coach and fitness coach are new. I'm very happy with that. I think that was the key. The right preparation, the right practice and I'm fitter."

The next step, of course, is breaking through into the really top echelons of the game - but confidence is one thing Gulbis certainly does not lack.

He added: "Any points which I make I'm going to go fast up the rankings. I didn't have a goal. Now I have a goal, to keep on winning matches and to be even higher, reach the 30s, 20s, and then everything is open."